Son of former coach retired after winning state championship but
couldn’t stay retired
Gilroy – Pete Newell Jr. was content with retirement.
After more than 30 years coaching high school boys and middle school girls basketball, it was time to sit back and enjoy the games as an observer.
It wasn’t in the cards, though. Newell, in his 33rd year of teaching at Santa Cruz High School, talked with Annette and Louis Baity in September. Annette, the head coach of the Watsonville girls, was pregnant with a child due in November and was going to have to take time off from coaching.
Louie Baity, who was assisting his wife with coaching, couldn’t assume the head position because of firefighting duties in Modesto. Nobody else was stepping forward. So Newell answered the call.
“I volunteered my services,” said Newell, 62, who was on the Wildcatz bench this weekend during the Mustang Classic. “I feel real blessed. They are a nice, hard-working group of girls.”
Annette Baity should feel blessed. She will return to the team in a couple of weeks with a baby in tow. In the meantime, she had a caretaker with more experience than the average Joe, or Joan.
Newell decided early in his career he would follow in the footsteps of his famous dad, Pete Newell, Sr., but not on the collegiate level. Senior was one of the most well-known and respected coaches at California-Berkeley. Junior wanted to be more of a coach/teacher, and a couple of seasons as an assistant at the University of Pacific soured him on coaching on the collegiate level.
During his first year at Santa Cruz, the Cardinals went 1-23. His 30th and final team in 2004-05 was state champion with a 36-1 mark. It included current Gavilan players Eric Van Vliet and Jessie LoBue.
After that, Newell walked away with peace of mind.
“Not at all,” Newell responded when asked if he missed coaching. “It was the right time to get out when I did.”
Missing coaching had nothing to do with his return. Newell met the former Annette Guerrero when she was a sophomore multiple-sport athlete at Watsonville High. She attended one of his clinics at Santa Cruz High.
“I always had a good feeling about her,” Newell said. “She’s a nice, hard-working person.”
In addition to coaching at Santa Cruz, Newell coached the Holy Cross seventh and eighth grade girls for five years. He still has his big girls camps during the summer. But this was to be his first full year away from coaching during the winter in more than 35 years.
Those in attendance at Bob Hagen Memorial Gymnasium were taken aback by the Zen-like figure on the Watsonville bench with the long beard and sandals.
If his appearance is non-conformist, his coaching methods and style are mainstream. He preaches and teaches fundamentals. At the same time, he doesn’t look at himself as bigger than the game or all-knowing. And he deflects any credit for coaching the Wildcatz.
“She laid the foundation for this program,” Newell said. “They work hard and understand fundamentals. They’ll be a good team in their league.”
By then, Newell will be back in the stands rather than on the sidelines. After all, there are different ways to enjoy basketball, even for a lifer like Newell.
