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DATE: Saturday, July 3, 2004 BYLINE: By RICH RUPPRECHT PAGE: C1 UKIAH HIGH CROSS COUNTRY, TRACK COACH DREW LET GO SUCCESSFUL INSTRUCTOR TOLD HE HAD LOST HIS `ZEST FOR COACHING' Jerry Drew, a longtime cross country and track coach at Ukiah High, who has produced national and state champions, has lost his job at the school. Drew said he was called into the office of Ukiah principal Dr. Phillip Gary two weeks ago and told -- without explanation -- that he was no longer a coach at the school. Drew said he had met with the principal six months earlier and been told that he had lost his ``zest for coaching,'' an assertion Drew denied. Drew is known as a low-key coach who put greater emphasis on participation than performance. ``I love to win, but the journey to the top of the mountain is just as important,'' he said. ``You might lose along the way, but that's all right. ``It's how you conduct yourself, how you pick yourself up and meet a challenge.'' Drew's departure reflects larger problems with the athletic program at Ukiah, said ex-wrestling coach Gary Cavender, who heads a committee representing disgruntled parents called GIVE (Group Inspiring Vision and Excellence). ``We're kid advocates and we want to hold the administration responsible,'' said Cavender. ``We feel the kids are losing the opportunity to have a positive experience in athletics at Ukiah High,'' he said. Cavender said members of GIVE took their grievances to the school board last school year and submitted a written complaint. Drew had been head coach in cross country since 1992 and track and field since 1993. He began his coaching career at the school in 1984 as an assistant. He was an off-campus coach, essentially an independent contractor hired for the two sports. Ukiah athletic director Dennis Busse said all coaches, even teachers at Ukiah, are subject to annual renewals. The 46-year-old painting contractor said he would prefer to continue coaching, but won't fight the dismissal. He said that failing to have his contract renewed is tantamount to being fired. Gary didn't return phone calls. The coach said he knows that a few parents had complained to the school; one who said that Drew hadn't designed a good junior varsity program, and another who said that his teenager wasn't running fast enough under Drew's tutelage. Drew said a key factor probably surfaced when word got back to the principal's office that the Ukiah track team was practicing at Mendocino College, which has an all-weather track and no team. A complaint was made by an administrator at the college. ``That was probably the nail in the coffin,'' Drew said. Drew coached national and state cross country champion Amber Trotter and boys state champ Ryan Mack. Shelby Leland from this year's team was an All-America runner. ``I thought he did a great job,'' said Santa Rosa cross country and track coach Doug Courtemarche. ``He had the kids' interests at heart; he wasn't in it for any glory.'' Drew coached one of his daughters last year and was hoping to coach another this season. He still can be seen in Ukiah on weekend mornings running alongside athletes from his teams. Drew said that participation in cross country and track had declined somewhat in recent years, but he believed a new crop of athletes is nearing high-school age. GIVE spokesman Cavender said that in 1996 a review of the athletic program was conducted by outside school superintendents and administrators from Northern California and the result was a list of recommendations that Cavendar said was not implemented. Busse, the athletic director, declined to comment about GIVE or its complaints about the high school athletic program. You can reach Staff Writer Rich Rupprecht at 521-5275 or rrupprecht@pressdemocrat.com.
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