Longtime Turlock High basketball coach returns to sidelines after two-year hiatus

When Doug Cornfoot gave up his position as Turlock High’s boys basketball coach, he thought he was done for good.

Cornfoot took over the basketball program in 2006 and for the next 15 seasons, led the Bulldogs to 229 wins, three Central California Conference championships, 12 playoff appearances and a trip to the Sac-Joaquin Section Division I semifinals in 2010.

“It’s what I always wanted to do,” said Cornfoot, who spent his first five seasons as a coach at Delhi. “I didn’t get into education until I was 40. And once I got an opportunity to teach, coaching was the next thing I wanted to do.”

In the summer of 2021, after Turlock finished third in Central California Athletic League play with a 5-4 record in a COVID-shortened spring season, he decided to put the clipboard away.

He used the time off to relax at home, take trips to the snow, catch up on family time and watch his niece Elle Ladine explode onto the college basketball scene, earning Pac-12 All-Freshman Team Honorable Mention honors last season at the University of Washington.

He still made time to go to a few Turlock High home games and watched road contests on NFHS Network.

Two and a half years later, Cornfoot is back leading the Bulldogs’ varsity boys team. He estimates he took over around Labor Day after Nick Nathanson, who ran the program for the past two seasons, stepped down.

“Everything was changing, and I’m such a routine guy,” Cornfoot said of his decision to step down in 2021. “I didn’t want to be one of those guys that just hangs on year after year. I figured it was time to get somebody new in there that would bring in some new blood and step back.”

Though he enjoyed the free time after retiring from coaching — Saturdays free from practice and not getting home from away games at 10 p.m. — he says his competitive spirit never left.

After a year off, he returned to the sidelines last season, coaching Turlock’s freshman girls team. According to MaxPreps, the team went 3-3 with wins over Bella Vista, Modesto and Enochs. It helped him find his love for coaching again.

“I kind of thought I was hanging it up for good but after the first year I got bored,” Cornfoot said. “I had a blast coaching freshman girls, working with kids that want to listen and learn fundamentals. Then when the opportunity to come back to the varsity popped up, I thought, ‘You know what, I’m gonna go for it. I’ve got a few years until I retire. Why not finish strong?’”

Cornfoot continued to teach after retiring from the basketball position as a special education teacher. He also coaches PE where he got to know a lot of his future players.

“They were good kids,” he said. “I wanted to come back and help them and be part of the program.”

Turlock’s varsity boys, as of Friday, are 3-1 overall and are hoping to lock up another Godinez Tournament championship.

The Bulldogs last season finished 16-13 overall and earned a spot in the Division I section playoffs. They lost in the first round to Rocklin.

It is still early in the 2023-24 season and Cornfoot admits it has been a learning experience through the first few weeks.

“Right now, we’re kind of a two steps forward, one step back team,” he said. “There’s days where we do things that are really good and then there’s days where we’re still kind of behind. … We’re still learning and putting things in.”

The goal for the team has already been stated: Finish top three in the CCAL and earn a spot in the playoffs.

He even has new coaching methods, which he says he learned from last year’s coaching stint. Fans could see a different Doug Cornfoot walking the sidelines this time around.

“I’m a little more patient and I think emotionally I don’t get as riled up as I used to,” he said. “When things go bad, you can’t just chew them out. You’ve got to explain it and approach them that way.”

But don’t mistake a new demeanor for a lack of passion.

“I still have the competitive juices flowing,” he said.