RHS girls basketball coach submits resignation

By Bill Tamburrino

Coach Dan Marshall has resigned as head coach of the girls’ basketball program at Ramona High School.

Marshall has had 348 wins in 17 seasons and guided every team that he coached to the CIF playoffs. He is the most successful basketball coach and one of the most successful coaches of any sport in the school’s history.

In his tenure at RHS Marshall has been selected as the Teacher of the Year at Ramona High School and in the Ramona Unified School District. He was a finalist for the San Diego County Teacher of the Year, which validates Dr. Chris King’s recent statement, “Good teachers make good coaches and good coaches make good teachers.”

“I am very sorry that Dan Marshall is stepping down,” said Ramona High Athletic Director Damon Baldwin. “His program and his record speak for themselves. I understand and respect greatly his reasons for stepping down. I have the utmost respect for the hard work he has put in, not only at RHS but in the community of Ramona. He has done so much for all of the kids in Ramona. His low cost and free basketball camps have given the youth of Ramona a love for the game, a game that Dan clearly loves.”

Marshall made it clear that he is resigning as the head coach but not necessarily retiring from being a coach.

“I would love to assist a coach that I respect and see eye to eye with. I still love the game and have a passion for teaching the game,” he said.

There is not just one reason for Marshall’s decision.

“I don’t feel that I can put in the time to keep the program where I think it belongs,” he said. “Several young athletes that I would love to coach have decided to concentrate on just one sport. I have always encouraged my athletes to play more than one sport and the basketball program has benefited from multi-sport athletes.”

Marshall noted that this year Kailey Hill (three sports), Christina Barrameda (three sports), Katherine Mauldin (two sports) and Hannah Farhat (two sports) were chosen for the All Valley League team and were major factors in Ramona High’s league championship.

“Several other players in the program also play other sports. It is a shame that some coaches are working to have good athletes just play one sport but that seems to be the way things are going,” he said.

“There is only so much time one has,” Marshall continued. “I want to spend more time with my family and I have other interests that take up time. I don’t have the time to spend with my family and on my interests and keep the program where it is if the better athletes are only going to play one sport.”

Marshall never considered himself as a girls’ basketball coach. He insisted that he is a basketball coach that was fortunate enough to coach girls. Marshall coached his teams to play aggressive, physical, hard-nosed, and defensive team basketball; attributes that have no gender.

“We plan on posting the job and getting a teacher/coach if possible, as we are in boys basketball,” said Baldwin.

Ramona High’s boys varsity basketball coach, David Reichner, resigned at the end of this season.