Swartz resigns after four years

Hamlet Nalbandyan

It was an opportunity Rob Swartz couldn’t pass up, which is why the

37-year-old resigned from his duties as head football coach at Hoover

High on Monday.

Swartz, who taught math and coached at Hoover for four years, will

accept the same positions at Golden Valley High in Santa Clarita.

Golden Valley, which is one of six high schools in the William S.

Hart Union School District, will open this fall.

The Grizzlies will compete only at the junior varsity level next

season, before moving up to varsity in 2005.

“It’s a unique opportunity, to coach at a new school with new

facilities, and it’s something that I just couldn’t pass up,” Swartz

said. “It’ll be tough leaving Hoover. I’ve formed some great

relationships here, and my experience has always been positive.

“The administration has been very supportive of me, and the kids

have been phenomenal.”

Swartz began his coaching career 10 years ago as a tight end’s

coach at San Jose State University.

From there, he became the offensive coordinator at Fremont High in

Sunnyvale, before coming to Hoover in 2000.

With the Tornadoes, Swartz wasn’t able to achieve much success as

far as wins and losses went -- Hoover was 3-35-2 during his tenure,

including 0-20 in the Pacific League -- but his presence was felt in

other areas.

“Rob was a special find for us,” Hoover co-Principal Kevin Welsh

said. “He gave everything of himself to the program and to the kids,

and you can’t ask for anything more.

“I’m happy for him, because it’s an opportunity he deserves, but

it’s a tough loss for us. There’ll be some tough shoes to fill.”

Welsh said he will begin the process of finding a new coach

immediately.

Since Swartz’s arrival, participation in football at Hoover has

nearly tripled -- going from around 40 kids in the entire program his

first year to more than a 100 this past season.

In addition, the Tornadoes have added a freshmen program, which

won the city championship in 2003, handily defeating Crescenta

Valley’s and Glendale’s freshmen teams.

“At Hoover, you had to play with a different scoreboard,” Swartz

said. “I learned after my first year that athletics here are about

getting kids involved in something positive, so they have a sense of

direction in their lives.

“In my opinion, we had a successful program at Hoover, because we

did that.”

Coincidently, Swartz’s resignation comes less than a month after

Glendale’s Loi Phan stepped down as football coach. The two started

their head coaching careers in 2000.