Edison Hires Two Coaches for Varsity Girls’ Programs

Edison High School has hired two part-time coaches for its girls’ varsity basketball and tennis programs, Athletic Director Bruce Belcher said Wednesday.

Philip Abraham Jr. replaces Randy Williams as coach of the basketball team. Williams, a temporary teacher, took a teaching/coaching job in Portland, Ore., when the Huntington Beach Union High School District decided not to renew his contract.

Abraham, 25, of Portland, Ore., is the brother of Michael Abraham, an assistant to Cal State Long Beach women’s basketball coach Joan Bonvicini.

The job at Edison is Abraham’s first as a varsity coach. He was a junior varsity coach and varsity assistant to Lindsay Strothers, now the women’s basketball coach at Chapman College, at St. Mary’s Academy in Portland from 1985-87. The St. Mary’s varsity won its third consecutive Oregon state championship in 1985. Abraham’s junior varsity compiled a 37-3 record in his two seasons.

From 1987-89, he was an assistant at Grant High in Portland.

Abraham attended Southern Oregon State College for two years and Portland State University for a year. He hopes to earn a bachelor’s degree in communications or physical education from Cal State Long Beach.

Tim Ludeke was named the girls’ varsity tennis coach at Edison. He replaces Ron LaRuffa, who stepped down. Ludeke, a graduate of Santiago High, also will coach the varsity tennis team at Servite. Last season, he coached the Servite team and the varsity girls’ tennis team at Tustin. He also has coached the boys’ and girls’ varsity teams at Santiago High.