Coach Minor Moves On

(01-02-2009) 18:17 PST -- St. Mary's-Berkeley High has a new football coach for the second time in the past year. Former Balboa coach Keith Minor has accepted the coaching duties and a physical-education teaching position at the school, replacing Dan Ferrigno, who has departed to be an assistant coach at San Diego State.

Ferrigno, a longtime college assistant, was a wide receivers coach at Cal before taking the St. Mary's post. The first-year head coach guided the Panthers to a 5-5 season.

Minor, who coached Balboa for six seasons, is a 1989 graduate of St. Mary's. He played offensive line for the Panthers before playing at Laney College and Sacramento State. Minor compiled a 28-35 record at Balboa, leading the Buccaneers to consecutive Turkey Day games in 2004 and 2005 and developing current Division I players JoPierre Davis (Hawaii) and McLeod Bethel-Thompson (Sacramento State). He also worked as an outreach counselor at the school.

"When you get an opportunity to go home, it's hard to pass up," said Minor, who lives in Oakland. "And when the alma mater calls you, it takes on a different spin."

Minor leaves a Balboa team that is expected to compete for a San Francisco Section title. The Buccaneers were 2-8 in 2008, but return the majority of their playmakers, including two sophomore running backs. Minor said it was a difficult decision personally, but a professional opportunity on which he couldn't pass.

"Working at Bal was a great job," said Minor, who represented the San Francisco Section on the CIF football committee.

Minor will be coaching on a new field at St. Mary's. The school recently completed a $6 million stadium project, which forced the football team to play all its games on the road in 2008.

Jackson switches commitment: Las Lomas-Walnut Creek wide receiver Diante Jackson confirmed a report from Rivals.com that he verbally has committed to play football at Colorado. Jackson originally committed to Oregon, but began to lean toward Colorado after visiting Boulder in November.

"It took a lot of thought," Jackson said. "It was mainly because of the people in Colorado. It felt more like California except with mountains around it. I felt like I fit in there immediately."

Jackson, a 6-foot-2, 205-pound senior, was a first-team All-Metro selection. He said his decision also was influenced by Colorado's offensive style.

"They've got young players and they're going to be on the rise," Jackson said. "I want to play in the NFL and to get ready, you need to play in a pro-style offense."

E-mail Will McCulloch at wmcculloch@sfchronicle.com.

This article appeared on page D - 5 of the San Francisco Chronicle

UPDATE:

Farewell Coach Minor- Welcome to Coach Alvaro M. Carvajal

Football coach Keith Minor has accepted
the coaching and P.E. duties at St Marys'
Berkeley High. Keith was a great coach
and he will be missed. (See complete
story on our web site, balbucs.net).

The good news is that our new coach
Is Alvaro M. Carvajal (class of 2000!). He
Is looking forward to "coming back to
Bal" as head football coach and utilizing
his skills, experience and natural abilities
In an environment that is conducive to
personal and professional growth - and
guess where that is? At Balboa, of course.
Welcome 'home' Alvaro.