Saint Mary’s High said goodbye in August to longtime Spanish teacher, school parent, and outstanding boys’ varsity basketball coach Manny Nodar, who has begun a new coaching career with San Francisco’s famed Olympic Club. Nodar’s two sons begin their freshman and senior years at Saint Mary’s this week.
Nodar came to Saint Mary’s in 2002 from his alma mater Sacred Heart Cathedral Prep in San Francisco, where he was also a teacher and coach. The two schools are the oldest of the Christian Brothers’ high schools in the West, founded in 1863 and 1874, respectively. Nodar led the Panther boys to league titles, North Coast Section titles, and trips to the State playoffs. In 2010, both the Saint Mary’s boys’ and girls’ varsity teams went to the State finals – a Bay Area high school sports first – the same week that big sister Saint Mary’s College in Moraga went to the Sweet Sixteen college tournament. Though all three teams were defeated, the Saint Mary’s name was the pride of the East Bay. Nodar and girls’ coach, Saint Mary’s alum Nate Fripp brought Saint Mary’s High basketball into the high school sports limelight.
An interim coach will be named in early September while a search is conducted for a permanent replacement. Saint Mary’s sends best wishes, congratulations, and thanks to Coach Nodar for his years of service and dedication to the Lasallian educational and athletic tradition.
