Chatsworth Coach Coan Is Sidelined

Coach Bill Coan of Chatsworth High and his top football assistant, Ron Martinez, have been banned from participating in practices and will not be allowed to coach in the opener on Sept. 8 until they complete a district-mandated coaches’ certification program.

Freshman-sophomore coaches Todd Orey and Joe Maiale were informed Thursday they would take over directing the varsity during practices and in the Chancellors’ opening game against Reseda, school officials said.

Coan, Martinez and more than 15 other City Section coaches in fall sports have been told they cannot coach until they complete the American Sports Education Program eight-hour workshop and pass two district-mandated exams.

The next workshop in Los Angeles is scheduled for Sept. 9, but there are classes being taught elsewhere in the state, which may allow Coan and Martinez to be reinstated in time for the opener.

Jeff Halpern, a City Section administrator, declined to reveal the names of other coaches who failed to complete the certification program but confirmed that another head football coach outside the San Fernando Valley would be barred from coaching until he completes the certification process.

“It’s something we overlooked and should have taken care of,” said Martinez, who has been coaching since 1970.

The workshop was offered three times this year--in January, April and June. For two years, the Los Angeles Unified School District has required paid coaches to be certified.

More than 1,200 coaches have gone through the program, which includes passing a 100-question test on coaching principles and a 35-question exam covering rules and regulations of the California Interscholastic Federation.

Coan, in his third year as Chatsworth coach, said he mistakenly thought he’d be able to coach in the opener as long as he attended the Sept. 9 workshop.

Orey, 40, has never coached at the varsity level, but he directed many of Chatsworth’s players last season as the freshman-sophomore coach.