Ferndale

Coaching change at Ferndale High

By Mark Vest
C & G Sports Writer

Goliday

During his playing days at Ferndale High, Herb Goliday helped lead the Eagles to two district championships, the last one coming in his senior year of 2001.

Goliday went on to play for Central Michigan University and Wayne State University before returning to Ferndale’s sidelines in 2009 as an assistant to coach Tom Staton.

Staton, who also played for Ferndale prior to suiting up for the University of Michigan, decided to accept a head coaching position with the Oakland County Cowboys, a new American Basketball Association team. Staton’s departure has provided Goliday with the opportunity to once again help lead the Eagles to championships, except this time it will be in the role of head coach.

Goliday believes that the lessons he learned from his former coach during his playing days and from Staton have helped to prepare him for his opportunity to lead the Eagles.

“It’s a great honor to have the opportunity to coach where pretty much my basketball career started,” he said. “I’ve always felt like going to Ferndale schools I was mentored by a great coach in Don McNeal. I just want to have the opportunity to maybe mentor some young boys myself as the coach here at Ferndale High.

“When Tom first came in, we spoke, and we had a plan of working together and making sure we put the kids first, and teaching them the values of the game, as well as the importance of being good students. He’s taught me so much about what I believe to be the business aspect of coaching: fundraising, dealing with parents, scheduling games, working with officials. With the game of basketball itself, he’s taught me so much.”

Goliday will be taking over a team that captured a district championship last season, which was the program’s first since his team did it in 2001. One of his chief ambitions as coach is to be a part of a continuing effort to re-establish a winning tradition at the school that has been such a big part of his life.

“From the time until I finished playing, Ferndale was known as one of the better teams in the OAA (Oakland Activities Association),” he said. “I think some of that got lost as the years went on. When Tom and I got together three years ago, we brought some of that tradition back. Ferndale’s back to being relevant again. People know when they play Ferndale now, they got to be ready to play.”

Goliday will have such players back as Robert Diez, Aaron Rice, Justin Kearney and Jermaine King.

And while he doesn’t want to make any grand predictions, Goliday does have an idea as to what he hopes the future of Ferndale basketball will look like.

“I just want to make sure I build a program that can sustain for years to come,” he said. “I want to make sure we put a competitive product on the court, and we have productive young men who represent our school in the most positive manner. I think if we take care of those things, the wins will take care of themselves.”

You can reach C & G Sports Writer Mark Vest at mvest@candgnews.com or at (586)279-1112. Follow Mark on Twitter.