By Patrick Hayes

Ferndale High School didn’t stray far when it hired its new basketball coach. Tom Staten stepped down as coach in June, and the school has hired his former assistant coach and Ferndale alum Herb Goliday to take over. From Mike Niziolek of the Ferndale Patch:

Goliday, who is a physical education teacher in the district, went on to coach junior varsity before taking last year off from coaching when his wife had the couple’s first child.

When Staton resigned, one of his first calls was to Goliday to see if he was interested in the position. The idea of returning to the bench to be the head coach at his Alma mater was a no-brainer for Goliday. He applied for the opening with a recommendation from Staton.

His familiarity with the school immediately made him one of the top candidates during the interview process.

“We had a number of quality applicants, but no one who had such a passion for the district,” Butler said in a phone interview on Thursday night.

Goliday also impressed Butler with his stated focus for the position.

“I had coaches come in and guarantee 15-win, 18-win seasons, but the first thing Herb said was, ‘I guarantee you we’ll run the program the right way,’” Butler said.