Role Reversal for Woodard and Drucker : Basketball: Taft boys’ coach of 13 years, fed up with system he says encourages cheating, takes over girls’ team.

WOODLAND HILLS —  After 13 years, Jim Woodard has had enough of coaching the boys’ basketball team at Taft High.

So, he’s going to coach the Taft girls’ team.

Woodard, who has guided the Toreadors to two league championships and three City Section quarterfinal appearances, stepped down Thursday while accepting the job as varsity girls’ coach.

In turn, Mark Drucker, the school’s girls’ coach for the past four years, will replace Woodard as boys’ coach.

“Definitely his idea,” Drucker, a former assistant to Woodard, said of the switch. “I knew he would eventually step down, but I was a little surprised when he did.”

Woodard, The Times’ All-Valley coach of the year in 1991, said he “needed a change” and had been considering leaving the boys’ program for the past year. More specifically, the coach said he had grown discouraged over the years with increasing reports of players and coaches allegedly circumventing City Section rules regarding residency and illegal recruiting.

Woodard declined to be specific.

“I’m sure everybody knows all the stories,” Woodard said. “I’m tired of listening to myself moan and groan about a system I can’t do anything about. I don’t believe in teaching kids to lie about their address and (find) various ways around the system.”

Woodard, who compiled a 181-102 record at Taft, said he considered that sort of thing to be less prevalent in girls’ basketball.

“I still like coaching,” Woodard said. “It’s another opportunity and I’m looking forward to it. And I’m very happy with Mark taking over the boys’ program. He’s an excellent coach and we’ve been friends for 25 years.”

Drucker, 40, a 1972 Taft graduate, served as a varsity assistant for nine years before becoming girls’ coach in 1990. He led the Toreadors to league championships in 1991, ’93 and ’94.

Last season, Taft reached the 3-A semifinals, losing to Banning, the eventual champion.

Drucker said he has long envisioned becoming boys’ coach after Woodard stepped down.

“It definitely will be a challenge, stepping from girls to boys,” Drucker said. “But I think I’ve been around long enough. I definitely know the game and I relate well to the players. And the players definitely know me.”