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Minerd stepping down as Lady Trojans coach

By Rob Burchianti rburchianti@heraldstandard.Com 4 min read
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Holly Tonini

Chris Minerd is stepping down as head coach of the California girls basketball team after eight seasons.

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Rob Burchianti | Herald-Standard

California coach Chris Minerd watches his team during its WPIAL quarterfinal playoff game against eventual champion Vincentian Academy. Minerd is stepping down as head coach of the Lady Trojans after eight years.

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California coach Chris Minerd poses with a couple young fans after his Lady Trojans' victory in the PIAA playoffs in 2014.

Only one area basketball program has reached the PIAA tournament four times in the last five years, but that team will be losing its coach.

California girls basketball coach Chris Minerd has decided to step down after 11 years with the program, including the last eight as its head coach. The Lady Trojans’ season ended Friday night with a loss to Coudersport in the state tournament at St. Marys Area High School.

Minerd will continue his role as California Area High School’s athletic director.

“I’ve been thinking about it for a couple years,” Minerd said of his decision. “The main thing is obviously the time commitment that it requires to be a head coach. Being the athletic director, doing double-duty, also living in Gibsonia, it’s not easy for me to put the time in that I need to build the program, to sustain it and to kind of rebuild it.

“I’ve been the head coach for eight years, so I brought two classes that I’ve coached from seventh grade all the way through. It’s not fair to the kids because I can’t put the time in that I want to put in to it. When we play on Mondays I have to come back for practice on the weekends and whatnot. The desire wasn’t there to continue. I think timing is a big part of everything and it’s just time for somebody else to take over.

“I would like to thank the California Area School District school board and administration for all the support throughout the years. I would also like to thank Brian Jackson, Phil Pergola and Cindy Dunlevy for taking a chance on me when no one else would.”

Minerd accumulated a record of 123-66 in his eight years and led California to the playoffs seven times while winning two section titles. He did arguably his best job this year when the Lady Trojans returned only two starters, had just 12 players on their roster, had several players miss time with injuries, yet still were in the hunt for the section title until the final game of the regular season.

In his final six years, Minerd’s teams were a combined 69 games over .500 (107-38) and won at least one playoff game in four of those seasons. His 2014 team reached the WPIAL semifinals and his 2015 team gave the program its first ever victory in the PIAA playoffs.

Minerd was an assistant coach under Dunlevy for three years, all which ended in the playoffs, before taking over as the head coach. California has reached the postseason in 10 of his 11 years there. Before that, the Lady Trojans struggled mightily in the early-to-mid 2000s.

“I’m definitely proud of where the program has come,” Minerd said. “To do what we’ve been able to do, especially the last five years, it’s been a great ride. I’ve had the privilege of having some great players and great coaches alongside me.”

Minerd’s coaching staff this season included former Jefferson-Morgan head coach Chris Niemiec and volunteer assistant Phil Stewart.

Minerd, a Beth-Center graduate, got into coaching basketball at a young age.

“I started right out of high school, with the (Beth-Center) boys,” Minerd said. “When my brother was the coach I was a volunteer with them. I helped with the middle school program, and then I ran the instructional league at Beth-Center for about five years. I was the referee and I actually ran the entire league.

“Then I started coaching a lot of girls that played on the high school team. That’s actually where I started coaching the girls. I coached AAU and travel teams before getting the chance at California.”

Minerd looks back on his career with fondness.

“One of the things I was most proud of was getting them to the final four,” Minerd said. “Our biggest win was against North Catholic that year in the quarterfinals. If I have any regrets it would be not getting to the finals.

“But I felt that we took the program as far as we could with what we had.”

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