Scots stadium stories

Joshua Baxter

Every stadium has a story. Whether it’s a football stadium, baseball field, or aquatic center, there is always a reason behind the name plastered on the scoreboard or wherever seen fit. Yet, these stories are seldom heard, seemingly lost in history.

The names of these stadiums honor the memories of coaches or players who altered the course of Carlmont’s sports history. Their stories live on through the memories and voices of those who experienced it, passing these tales down from predecessor to successor.

At Carlmont, students can watch sporting events at one of its five major sporting arenas, each named after a coach who had a significant impact on Carlmont history. Carlmont named the aquatic arena after Glenn Kovas, the main gym after Terry Stogner, the football field after Bruce Usher, the baseball field after Bill Hurst, and the softball field after Jim Liggett.

These are their stories.

30 HIGHLANDER SPORTS

GLENN KOVAS AQUATIC CENTER

Glenn Kovas was both a swimming and water polo coach for Carlmont, and he taught classes for business math and economics. Kovas came to Carlmont in 1957, where he spent 42 years before retiring in 1999.

In his youth, Kovas graduated from Sequoia High School and later went on to Menlo College, playing football at both.

Throughout his time with Carlmont, Kovas amassed great respect from students and peers due to his tenure and successes. He was named Coach of the Year in 1992 by the California Coaches’ Association.

Kovas was also a player and president of the senior softball team Redwood City Señors and loved reading, traveling, British and American history, musicals, and country music.

Kovas passed away on Oct. 27, 2014, at 81 years old.

“Kovas was a very positive guy. Everything that came out of his mouth was

Rachel McCrea

positive, and when he was around, you felt better,” said Jim Kelly, swim coach and ASB advisor at Carlmont.

Kovas’ commanding presence was aided by his longevity as a coach, as he was hired at Carlmont only a few years after it first opened. He also helped bring about the aquatic programs at Carlmont to prominence.

“He would walk the halls and get kids to join the water polo or swim team because before his time, hardly anybody would do it. We’re talking about the 50s and even the 60s when swimming was more of an Olympic sport,” Kelly said. “Kovas developed the entire aquatics program and coached it forever. He was aquatics.”

Even today, Kovas’ legacy lives on through the students and aquatic programs.

“The swim team is known for their pre-meet and mid meet cheers, and I had them add his name into the pre-meet cheer, so they always start with ‘Kovas on three.’ They needed to understand his legend and what he did to be able to get

a facility named after him,” Kelly said. TERRY STOGNER GYM

Terry Stogner was a former head coach of Carlmont boys varsity basketball, where he won over 300 games throughout his 36-year career, spanning from 1967 to 2003. Stogner also stood as Carlmont’s athletic director over this period.

Stogner taught at Carlmont as a physical education teacher, a program he was chairman of for 27 years.

Currently, Stogner is the commissioner for the Peninsula Athletic League, a title which he has held since 2005.

“When I started at Carlmont in 1998, Terry Stogner was one of my mentors, and the things that he taught me allows me to teach the kids,” said David Heck, department chair of the physical education department.

Stogner also stayed involved with the coaches, hosting a barbecue at the end of the year for them to enjoy.

“Every year, Coach Stogner would have a coaches’ barbecue at his house, and all the coaches and their wives would go and play pool and have a great time, and that was something we looked forward to at the end of every school year,” Heck said.

Stogner even tried to recruit Ralph Crame, current Carlmont principal, to coach the football team and walked him around the campus in his effort.

“Stogner was someone who had a huge impact on students in the classroom and on the basketball court,” Crame said. “He is an amazing human being and a mentor to so many athletes. It’s a privilege to know him.” BRUCE USHER FOOTBALL FIELD

Bruce Usher was a JV football coach and math teacher at Carlmont, who started in 1968. In 1977, Usher had a cerebral hemorrhage during a game versus Serra High School and passed away at 33 years old.

“Bruce Usher was a bright young coach who suffered a brain aneurysm in the middle of coaching a football game and passed away that very evening at Sequoia Hospital. He was highly thought of by his students and athletes,” Stogner said.

BILL HURST BASEBALL FIELD

Bill Hurst was a baseball coach at Carlmont, who was also the head chairman of Carlmont’s first athletic department.

As athletic director, Hurst hired Stogner to work for Carlmont in 1967. When Stogner was still a student at Carlmont, Hurst was also the chairman of the physical education program and happened to be one of Stogner’s teachers.

“He was also my PE teacher when I was a student at Carlmont from 1957-1960. He was the baseball coach and ran the PE department and was a great role model,” Stogner said.

In 1972, Hurst died of a heart attack.

JIM LIGGETT SOFTBALL FIELD

Jim Liggett was a legendary softball coach who won over 1,000 games in 41 years of coaching at Carlmont.

Before he took up coaching, Liggett played in the Baltimore Orioles organization’s minor leagues from 1960-1966. Eventually, Liggett accepted a position as a math teacher and baseball coach at Carlmont in 1967.

Liggett retired from coaching after the 2016 season, with 1009 wins and 8 Central Coast Section championships under his belt. During his tenure at Carlmont, Liggett also served as head coach for football, basketball, and wrestling and was also the school’s athletic director for six years.

While he is known for his legendary career as a softball coach, Liggett also spent time as a varsity football coach.

In 1988, Liggett took Carlmont to a CCS championship game where they faced off against Terra Nova. Terra Nova defeated Carlmont 7-6 due to Ralph Crame, who graduated in 1989, blocking the extra point.

“When I got hired in 2007 as an administrator, I started talking with Liggett, and we realized that I was a player on a team that he coached against,” Crame said.

Alongside his outstanding record, Liggett left a lasting legacy on everyone he coached. His impact on the athletes he coached was far more profound than wins.

At his retirement party in 2016, many of Liggett’s former athletes returned to the student union to honor his incredible achievements for his career.

“They had the chance to come up and speak if they wanted to. A lot of ex-players, both recently graduated and ones who’ve graduated like thirty years ago, took the time to come up and tell a funny story about him, or just the impact that he had on their life,” Patrick Smith, the athletic director at Carlmont, said.

In June of 2017, at the age of 76, Liggett passed away after a battle with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, a nervous system disease attacking nerve cells and the spinal cord, causing the loss of muscles’ control.

Much of the impacts that Liggett had on his players wasn’t just softball related.

“When you talk about his legacy, you’re talking about something that lives beyond him. His legacy lives on because the people that played for him still carry a portion of what he taught,” Smith said.