![]() According to an article in the Inland Valley Daily Bulletin, Etiwanda athletic director David Masucci (who also runs one of the state’s most successful softball programs) opened up the job during the summer but was contacted by Kleckner in August that he had changed his mind. After the 2016-17 season, he turned in resignation papers to the Chaffey Joint Union High School District. ![]() It was almost a season that never happened at Etiwanda for Kleckner. Kleckner’s boys then lost in the SoCal Open Division final to Sierra Canyon of Chatsworth 58-55 and Sierra Canyon went on to beat Sheldon of Sacramento in the Open Division state final by a more lopsided margin. In the CIF SoCal regionals, Etiwanda didn’t avenge the loss to CIFSS Open champ Mater Dei, but obliterated Fairfax of Los Angeles 62-34 after Fairfax had upset Mater Dei in its previous game. In addition to the Baseline League title, which was Etiwanda’s 12th in the last 15 years under Kleckner, the Eagles won a CIFSS Open Division game against Santa Margarita before losing in the semifinals to Mater Dei of Santa Ana and then in a third-place contest vs. Still, the Eagles recorded their fare share of big wins in a 30-4 campaign that ended with a No. Kleckner’s team didn’t win the CIF Southern Section or CIF Open Division state titles. Knowing the challenges we are faced with as coaches today, I have nothing but respect for my colleagues.” “I am well aware of all the great coaches out there that have dedicated their lives for the betterment of young people. “It is truly an honor to be named coach of the year,” Kleckner told Cal-Hi Sports’ Managing Editor Ronnie Flores in a Monday morning email. For Kleckner, it’s the fact that his team at Etiwanda this season posted two wins in Baseline League competition over a Chino Hills squad that won the CIF Division I state title. With competitive equity-based playoff divisions in the CIF Southern Section and for the CIF state playoffs, however, all individual honors have to be evaluated with that in mind. That’s never been a prerequisite but has tended to be the case in the last 20 years. It’s about time we also are going with a State Coach of the Year who didn’t win a CIF state title. ![]() Kleckner is shown in this photo from the early 2000s when his program was just beginning to roll at Etiwanda. That selection wasn’t done at the time, but was based on research and done retroactively sometime in the late 1970s by Cal-Hi Sports founder Nelson Tennis. The only other one on the list is Karl Kaiser from Chaffey of Ontario for 1932. That was Steve Johnson of Eisenhower of Rialto in 2009 after the Eagles won the D2 state crown. The Inland Empire had one boys hoops State Coach of the Year in the modern era since 1980 when the selections were made at the end of that season and every season since then. It’s just about time that his name was added to the all-time list of state coaches of the year that goes back to 1920 in the Cal-Hi Sports state records. That’s because he’s at a public school that doesn’t traditionally get any transfers, it’s because he’s a staunch proponent of man-to-man defense with a demonstrated ability to teach how to play it and it’s because the Eagles have been a consistent winner for many years. Kleckner has been one of the most highly regarded boys basketball coaches in Southern California for many years. “It’s about time” can refer to several aspects of the selection of Etiwanda’s Dave Kleckner as the Cal-Hi Sports State Coach of the Year. (Managing editor Ronnie Flores contributed to this post.) For more on special offer to get signed up for $9.99 for three months that started several months ago, CLICK HERE. Please help us out today by becoming a member of our Gold Club so you can see all of our great content, including some of our upcoming all-state boys basketball teams. Now the time has come to recognize one of the most respected boys basketball coaches in California as the Cal-Hi Sports State Coach of the Year.įor our post on each of the divisional boys basketball State Coaches of the Year, CLICK HERE. Photo Credit: Eric Sondheimer/Īfter a summer of uncertainty in which he resigned and then came back with the same job, there is no doubt that Etiwanda’s Dave Kleckner had one of his best seasons. State Coach of the Year Dave Kleckner stands near the scorer’s table before his Etiwanda team played Damien of La Verne.
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