BACK BY POPULAR DEMAND COACH REJOINS ACADEMIC TEAM.Byline: Eric ERIC Educational Research Information Clearinghouse ERIC Educational Resources Information Center ERIC ERISA Industry Committee ERIC Epidemiologic Research and Information Center (Durham, NC) Leach Staff Writer MOORPARK - The Academic Decathlon decathlon (dĭkăth`lŏn), in modern Olympic games, a contest for men held over two days and composed of 10 track-and-field events. coach who helped Moorpark High School Moorpark High School, located in Moorpark, California, is a public high school in the Moorpark Unified School District and currently has an enrollment of 2,478 students.[1] win national championships in 1999 and 2003 is back on the job, working up to six days a week with a new group of students. Larry Jones Larry Jones is also the real name of Atlanta Braves player Chipper Jones. Walter "Larry" Jones (born September 22, 1942 in Columbus, Ohio) is a retired American basketball player. He played professionally in the NBA and ABA, from 1964 to 1974. , who had coached Moorpark teams for more than a decade, left the program last year until popular demand from the community brought him back. ``I had done it for a dozen years. My son had been on the team. We won the national championship, so I was done, going on to other things, and didn't did·n't Contraction of did not. didn't did not didn't do feel like I would ever do it again,'' Jones said. ``I even threw all my stuff away. ``But people, including Dr. (Frank) DePasquale, the superintendent, kept asking me to come back. ... I picked a team in June June: see month. , before the students left for the summer, and gave them the books to read. So, we're back.'' The 2005 U.S. Academic Decathlon finals are scheduled for April 13-16 in Chicago, and the Moorpark students hope to be there. Mike Agnitch, the high school's interim principal, said community members pressed for Jones' return because the Academic Decathlon victories are such a source of pride in Moorpark. ``The Academic Decathlon is Moorpark's claim to fame, so we're very pleased that Larry Jones has decided to come back to the competition,'' Agnitch said. ``If we win the state finals, we would be in contention for the national championship again,'' Agnitch said. ``But we have some really tough competition from Taft and El Camino high schools "El Camino High School" may refer to:
Last April, El Camino won the 2004 annual U.S. Academic Decathlon, giving the Woodland Hills school its third championship - the only California California (kăl'ĭfôr`nyə), most populous state in the United States, located in the Far West; bordered by Oregon (N), Nevada and, across the Colorado River, Arizona (E), Mexico (S), and the Pacific Ocean (W). school with three national titles. DePasquale, superintendent of the Moorpark Unified School District A unified school district is a school district which includes both primary school (kindergarten through middle school or junior high) and high school (grades 9-12). In Illinois, these districts are called unit school districts. , said that when Jones stepped down from coaching last year - he continued teaching - ``there was something missing in the community of Moorpark.'' Jones told his new student team members at Moorpark that if any one of them had made it into high school without studying, the time to start was now. Some on the team expressed their appreciation for Jones and said the work was intense. ``He's a real pro,'' said Michael Caparelli, 17. Garner Kropp, 16, said Jones' dedication was obvious. ``The Academic Decathlon is the last thing he thinks of when he goes to sleep and the first thing when he wakes up.'' Gabby gab·by adj. gab·bi·er, gab·bi·est Slang Tending to talk excessively; garrulous. gab  bi·ness n. Liu, 16, said it was worth the effort, considering the goal. ``On what other team would you have a chance of winning a national championship?'' she said. DePasquale said most of Jones' decathlon work is done on his time. ``It takes up hours and hours of your life for many months. It takes a very special breed of teacher, and Mr. Jones happens to be one of the best. The passion he has, he transfers that passion to the students. That's why he's so successful,'' DePasquale said. The Academic Decathlon team trains every day in a sixth-period class, and members often stay after school until 5 p.m. Sometimes the team members go home for dinner, then come back from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. for more study. ``There's also a few Saturdays we get together,'' Jones said. He agreed with Agnitch that winning California in 2005 would be difficult because of the highly competitive teams, including a number in the San Fernando Valley San Fernando Valley Valley, southern California, U.S. Northwest of central Los Angeles, the valley is bounded by the San Gabriel, Santa Susana, and Santa Monica mountains and the Simi Hills. area. ``We had no team last year, and some teams have top students from last year coming back,'' Jones said. But he said his team members this year came to him well-educated. ``It's not me teaching them so much, but kind of orchestrating it at the end of the road. Moorpark is a wonderful community, and the Academic Decathlon is big here. The City Council helps us, the school board, the local business community, the Rotary Rotary can refer to:
Jones said a big reason he came back to coaching was the appeal from students. ``It opens doors for students. It helps them get more scholarships and helps them get into good schools, and that's why I teach, to help students.'' Eric Leach, (805) 583-7602 eric.leach(at)dailynews.com CAPTION(S): 2 photos Photo: (1 -- ran in Valley edition only) Larry Jones is back as coach of the Moorpark High School Academic Decathlon team after a short ``retirement.'' (2 -- color -- ran in Simi edition only) Larry Jones is back as coach of the Moorpark High School Academic Decathlon team after a short ``retirement.'' Andy Holzman/Staff Photographer |
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