Frank Nevarez, Mingus Union High School’s head girls basketball coach during the last two seasons, announced he is leaving the program for work-related reasons.
Nevarez guided the Marauders to a 9-18 overall record and 3-9 in Grand Canyon Region play in the 2017-18 season.
“My full-time job is really placing a bigger demand on my time, so because of that it’s becoming very difficult for me to use my time effectively with the girls as well as my full-time job,” Nevarez said. “I had to make a choice and obviously I had to choose my full-time job.”
Nevarez is a pastor at Emmanuel Fellowship C3 Church in Cottonwood. As the church goes through changes, he thought he would still be able to dedicate sufficient time to the Marauders program.
In light of the realization that it would not be possible, Nevarez chose to step aside as coach. The position was posted within the last couple of weeks, and according to Arizona Interscholastic Association rules must be open for at least 10 days before interviews begin. A new head coach has not been named.
In his first season at the helm, the Marauders finished 7-12 overall and 3-10 in region play. Aiding the program was the establishment of an offseason program. Nevarez facilitated open gym time and took the team to scrimmages against teams from the Verde Valley and Flagstaff during the summer months.
“When I took it over a couple of years ago, we really started from scratch. We had to build a summer program, which we did, and this is now the third year and you can see the number of kids attending the summer program has grown,” Nevarez said. “I think three years ago the first summer program I had, I don’t know, I think I had maybe four or five that were coming. And then now, this past Wednesday or Thursday we had as many as 18 girls coming out. Building the program I think has been a big part of what I’ve been able to do in terms of the summer program.”
He credited the help of junior varsity Carson Sandoval and freshman coach Chris Johnson for their efforts in developing the younger Mingus hoopsters during the past season.
“I think between us three bringing some stability, I think really helped us and I think that’s going to keep on going forward,” Nevarez said.
In the future, and depending on work, he was unsure if he would coach again, although the desire is there.
“It was an incredible experience. I want to thank Allen Mitchell to begin with, who was the [athletic director] when I came on board, to Yancey DeVore, who is the current AD, and Susan Knight who is the secretary there. They all helped me immensely when I came on board,” Nevarez said. “My overall experience was great, it really was. Like I said the girls themselves, I was very fortunate and blessed to coach some incredible girls. Because of all of that I would like to coach again. Will I? I don’t know.”
