Rendel hired as new East girls hoops coach
With the departure of veteran coach Bobby Sharp, who resigned as the girls basketball coach last month, East High didn’t have to look very far for his replacement.
Jarrod Rendel, a varsity assistant and lower-level coach for the Blades’ boys basketball program the past eight years, was hired last week to take over the reins for Sharp, who led East to the Southern California Regional Division V championship last season.
“I’m ecstatic,” said Rendel of his first varsity high school coaching position. “It’s a dream come true. I’ve wanted to be a varsity coach since I was a kid.”
The decision to hire Rendel was an easy one for the school’s athletic director Tori Nettleton.
“We liked what he did for the JV team last year and of course (varsity boys basketball coach) James Dominguez groomed him well,” Nettleton said. “So we thought it would probably be a good fit.”
The 37-year-old Stockdale High graduate was first introduced to coaching as an assistant for his father, Ron, who coached at Compton Junior High for more than a decade.
Rendel first joined the Blades boys basketball coaching staff in 2012 as a JV assistant before assisting former varsity coaches Matt Robles and Milt Henderson. He then spent two years apiece as the boys frosh-soph and junior varsity coach under Dominguez before accepting the position as varsity girls coach.
“I’ve mostly coached boys, but I’ve been around the girls game and I have a lot of respect for it,” Rendel said. “Last year they were obviously so successful, but throughout the years I’ve just kind of followed them. But for me I just wanted an opportunity to coach varsity. It didn’t matter whether it was boys or girls.”
The most important thing, Rendel said, is building a rapport with his players.
“It’s really all about building those relationships with your students and your players,” said Rendel, who doubles as a special education teacher at East. “I think that translates whether that’s boys or girls.”
Rendel and several of his returning players got together for a Zoom call on Friday, and a digital learning application Canvas has been established to help facilitate at-home workouts.
“One of the first things I told the girls was, ‘look, the expectations are still very high,’” said Rendel, who will be assisted by Jade Uranday. “Those girls know that and there’s a lot of returners. Just because I’m coming in, I’m not going to set the bar low. But following Bobby is tough because he’s a legend. He’s done it on the boys and girls side. And I know he has a deep love for those girls.
“It’s going to be tough, but again, I’m going to fall back on my ability to be able to connect with my players … and I truly believe we’re going to be successful. I don’t see us having to rebuild here. There’s a lot of talent and I think we can be successful right away.”