"The philosophy really meshes with mine," said Darice Carnaje, newly named girls basketball coach at La Jolla High, of the approach she heard from Athletic Director Paula Conway and Assistant Principal Will Hawthorne in recent talks.
Carnaje, the head varsity basketball coach at Our Lady of Peace (OLP) for the past three years, took a break from competing in a USTA seniors tennis tournament in Austin, Texas, and was interviewed by phone.
What is her philosophy, that meshes so well with the LJHS philosophy? "I hope the girls like practicing, because I do," said the Mt. Miguel High alumna, who played four years of varsity basketball as well as four years of varsity tennis as a Matador. "I think you only win because you put in the time."
Regarding next year's Viking team, Carnaje (pronounced car-NAW-hee; "Darice" pronounced "duh-REESE") said, "I'm going to have to see what girls are there to see what kind of offense we run. It's kind of like chess. You have to figure out how it fits together."
The new Viking coach, who will continue to coach OLP's tennis team next fall, said she is familiar with some families and athletes at La Jolla. "We (OLP) play in the same (Western) league," she said. "I keep track of all the players of our opponents."
She chuckled. "I'm very happy that the tall volleyball player (Madeleine Gates) didn't come out last season. I'm surprised that La Jolla didn't win CIF" with her at center in 2014. (The Vikings made it to the championship game.)
What will you bring that's unique? "I don't know if it's unique. I try to teach the fundamentals. Sports like basketball--you take these fundamentals, you try to put them together in combination. The girls learn how to do a layup. Then they have to learn how to do it together. That's my job. It's such a simple game. It's so dynamic. Hopefully, that's what I'll bring to the girls."
"I play tennis," Carnaje continued. "You have these fundamentals. You try to put them together. It's like a chess match."
"Basketball is like tennis. It's both mental and physical."
As far as possible summer league this year, the walk-on coach said she didn't know what the summer would hold. "I haven't met with the girls yet. I would have to get on the floor to teach them some (skills). We could throw something together." She didn't sound inclined to do something haphazardly. She isn't sure if there is enough time to be ready to have a unit for summer league.
A key part of the mesh in philosophy with Conway and Hawthorne seems to be this, in Carnaje's words: "I think they just want to teach and coach. That's what I want to do, just teach (basketball skills) and coach. I don't coach travel (teams)." Some coaches devote considerable time to non-school travel teams.
Carnaje is not an on-campus classroom teacher.
She also coaches softball at OLP. Regarding continuing to coach softball for the Pilots, she didn't know if she would.
How the hire came about, according to Carnaje, was this: "I had told a couple of people I had resigned from (coaching basketball at) OLP. So Paula called me. She said, 'Come in, let's talk.' Everyone was so nice. My assistant coach said she would come (to LJHS), too."
She repeated: "The athletic director and assistant principal are both really nice."
She knows the Harmeyer family, whose daughters have played multiple sports at La Jolla. Jen Harmeyer was basketball team captain the past season. Her older sister, Katie Harmeyer, was two years ahead of Jen. Both played basketball. Track was also in the picture. "I thought Katie would come to OLP (for high school)," said Carnaje.
Another La Jolla High connection for the new coach is Dave Westhem, the girls basketball coach two years ago. "I've played tennis with Dave's sister," she said. "I was devastated when Dave left (coaching at LJHS)."
Another reason for taking the La Jolla position: "I like projects. It's a challenge."
Carnaje will be in Austin for the USTA tournament at least till Monday. "Longer, if I make the finals," says the tennis enthusiast.
At OLP, she said, "I was originally hired to coach basketball." Coaching tennis and softball came later. She began coaching at the private Catholic school in 1996.
Said a source: "This is a major hire" (for La Jolla). "Look at how well her teams have done at OLP. They've been ranked among the top teams."
Copyright 2015 Ed Piper
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