The Durango High School coaching carousel is expected to take another spin Tuesday, this time stopping on Kenny Wood.
Wood, the head coach of the boys soccer team, said he plans to turn in his letter of resignation to Durango School District 9-R on Tuesday after three years in charge of the program.
Wood was 31-13-8 overall in three seasons, all of which ended in playoff appearances for the Demons. His best year may have been his first, when Durango went 11-5-2 and advanced to the state quarterfinals on the strength of an upset 2-1 victory over top seed Cheyenne Mountain.
With his resignation, Wood will become the 11th head coach to part ways with the high school since December 2011. According to documentation received in June by The Durango Herald, Wood was paid $2,998.00 annually for his services as head coach.
Wood cited a lack of district support, both as a coach and in terms of finding a job within the district, as a key component to his decision to step aside.
“It kind of started just with the common theme, just a lack of support from the district,” said Wood, who also served as a fifth-grade teacher in Aztec since January 2012. “Since I’ve been working for the high school, you know, they knew I was working on my master’s degree to become a teacher, knew I was trying to get into the district, yet they’ve done pretty much nothing to help me or highlight that they want me to be teaching in the district.
“I would assume the new principal, Leanne Garcia, doesn’t even know I’m looking even though I talked to her about it.”
School district spokesperson Julie Popp declined comment on specific aspects of Wood’s resignation since the district hasn’t received formal notice from him yet. But she cited sizeable candidate pools when told of Wood’s disappointment with a lack of an in-district teaching job.
“I can say that within any position, any random position that we may post, we usually have a large applicant pool,” Popp said. “We can attract anywhere from 40 to 60 applicants. Certainly when it comes down to it, our goal is to hire the most qualified candidate for any position.”
Wood also expressed displeasure at not being chosen for the open girls soccer coaching position before last season, a job that eventually went to Dalon Parker, who guided DHS to the playoffs in his first season at the helm.
The timing of the resignation would appear odd on the surface, with the season’s first practice drawing ever closer. But Wood said the reason for the late departure was that he was waiting to see about possible Durango teaching jobs, and he added he didn’t want to short the team during its summer training program.
“I didn’t know what was going to happen,” he said. “I’ve been waiting for things to open in Durango, and I’ve been waiting for something to happen as well as looking other places. I tried to stretch it as long as I could so I could at least give the program my full attention over the summer.
“I’ve got to make moves for myself when I’m just making $3,000-plus dollars a year working for the district.”
Wood also lamented what he perceived as divisiveness among parents and between parents and coaches within the community, including a sense of feeling that coming from a particular elementary or middle school seemed to breed a sense of superiority.
“People think just because their kids go to one school they’re better than another school. ... It’s troubling,” Wood said. “That’s one of the reasons I’m moving on. I’m getting ridiculed by parents and people that don’t even concern coaching. ‘My kid’s not getting enough. They’re not getting this.’ They’re not living in the real world. High school sports is the only competitive thing, tangible item they have in Durango, and parents are diluting it with, ‘It’s not fair; my kids need more.’
“(Some players) don’t put any effort in. ... When it comes to push and shove, (it’s) ‘I’m a senior now.’ Well, where were you all summer or all winter for that matter?”
Popp said most issues between parents, players and coaches typically are simple miscommunication and usually issues can be solved before they reach the principal or superintendent.
“Typically, many issues can be resolved at the school level with the coach or athletic director,” Popp said. “Oftentimes complaints or concerns arise from mere misunderstanding, and once it’s addressed with the coach, more often than not it’s resolved.”
Involved in the hiring of Wood’s placement likely will be the new athletic director. Popp said that while a formal announcement isn’t ready, the district is closing in on hiring a replacement for Sheldon Keresey, who stepped down from his post in June.
As for Wood, his next stop is with the Colorado Rapids Youth Soccer Club in Denver. There, he said he’ll coach one of the club’s teams and hopes to work his way through the ranks.
“I’m just going to start using references and try to expand my coaching realm,” he said.
rowens@durangoherald.com
