La Quinta basketball coach Caleb Gervin stepping down after two years
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La Quinta High School basketball coach Caleb Gervin has confirmed that he is stepping down after two seasons at the Blackhawks' helm.
It was the first head coaching job for Gervin, known to long-time desert basketball fans as one of the greatest players to come out of the desert after a stellar career at Cathedral City High.
As a first-time coach, Gervin faced an unusual two-year period entirely within the scope of the COVID-19 pandemic. He was hired in April of 2020. His entire first season, which was supposed to begin in November of 2020, was pushed to the spring of 2021 and shortened. Then the 2021-22 season featured a shortened league schedule and the constant shuffling of lineups due to players missing time due to positive tests.
Gervin said the decision to step away had to do with that unfortunate timing and the stresses that came with it.
"It was nothing personal, just bad timing with these COVID-19 two years," Gervin said by text Thursday. "Super grateful to LQHS for the opportunity to coach my first two years. This is not the end, only the beginning. It's a peaceful exit."
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The Blackhawks went 10-22 in Gervin's two seasons, 5-8 in the shortened 2020-21 season and 5-14 this season.
The 41-year-old Gervin, who scored a remarkable 2,646 points in his four-year career at Cathedral City before graduating in 1998 and playing basketball at Louisville and Azusa Pacific, confirmed that he does hope to coach again at some point in the future. Gervin is the nephew of George "The Iceman" Gervin, voted one of the 50 greatest NBA players of all time.
La Quinta athletic director Juan Ruiz said that the position is now open to any interested candidates.
"We appreciate all that (Caleb) did for our kids and wish him the best of luck," Ruiz said.
The basketball position is not the only high-profile coaching opening at La Quinta. The school also has an opening for the head football coach position after it was announced that Patrick Rivenes would not be returning. Ruiz will step in as an interim football coach for the upcoming season, while the school searches for a replacement.
More: Patrick Rivenes will not return as La Quinta football coach; Juan Ramon Ruiz will step in
This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: La Quinta basketball coach Caleb Gervin stepping down after two years
