Coaches, coaches, coaches . . .

I just wanted to throw in my two cents’ worth regarding the recent retirement of longtime Tucson Amphitheater football coach Vern Friedli.

Friedli leaves as Arizona’s winningest coach, with 331 victories. What an outstanding achievement.

He led Amphi to a Class 5A state championship in 1979 over Mesa High and was runner-up to Mesa in 1990 and Mesa Mountain View in 1997. He also led Morenci to the Class 3A runner-up finish in 1973.

Friedli called ‘em like he saw ‘em, whether it was with writers or officials or the powers that be in state high school athletics. I always found that refreshing. He often carried the banner for Tucson and southern Arizona, sometimes jabbing the needle in when it came to the perception that more-populous metropolitan Phoenix got an advantage over Tucson schools.

He was one of the few remaining in a breed that stayed at the same school for most of their career, building loyalty among the players and those in the community. You won’t see that happen much from now on.

Congratulations, coach Friedli, on a job well done and all the best in your future endeavors.

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Who is the top girls’ basketball coach in Arizona?

How about Karen Self of Chandler Seton Catholic?

She has more than 500 career victories and has won several state championships, most recently last weekend in the new Division II.

Self, a former player at Arizona State, is an enthusiastic coach, efficient at Xs and Os and genuinely cares about her girls.

Way to go, Karen.

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A few weeks ago, I read of the passing of Herb Boetto, longtime Valley baseball coach.

He played at North High in Phoenix and at Arizona State.

Boetto went on to coach Phoenix Cortez to the big-school state championship in 1963 and Glendale Community College to the National Junior College Athletic Association title in 1968.

I got to know him as a student at GCC and when I was involved with intramural baseball. He was a very nice man and a good coach.

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It’s good to see some of the up-and-coming young coaches get a chance to rise from the assistant level to a head-coaching job.

One such guy is Adam Schiermyer, who according to The Arizona Republic’s Richard Obert has been hired as new field boss at Prescott Valley Bradshaw Mountain. Schiermyer was an assistant at Gilbert Perry.

Former Bradshaw Mountain coach Chuck Apap has moved up the road to become the head coach at Chino Valley.