Clayton Valley Charter names Frank Allocco Jr. new boys basketball coach
Frank Allocco Jr., who made a name for himself as a standout guard for the 1995 state championship Northgate Broncos and went on to play four years at Saint Mary’s College, has been named the new boys varsity basketball coach at Clayton Valley Charter High School.
Allocco, 42, is the son of legendary high school coach Frank Allocco Sr., who led Northgate to the CIF state ’95 Division III championship and moved a couple years later to De La Salle where he won two state D-I and 17 league titles during 18 years at the Concord parochial boys school.
After winning the 1995 state title as a junior, Allocco Jr. was named all-state at Northgate as his 1996 Broncos were second in the Division II state finals. He then had an excellent career at SMC where he was a three-year starter, a WCC all-conference player and participant in the 1997 NCAA tournament.
Andrew Doss, coach of CVCHS boys basketball for the past two years, is moving with his family to Arizona where he has landed a job as a history teacher and basketball coach at Horizon High School in Scottsdale. Before taking over the Ugly Eagles varsity for the 2018-19 season he was on the basketball staff for eight years, assisting head coach Eric Bamberger for four seasons on the varsity bench.
Bamberger stepped down after a record-breaking 2017-18 season for CVCHS in order to watch is daughter Ali play her final season at Carondelet and son Mason play as a De La Salle freshman. Bamberger returned last year to assist Doss and his son transferred to Clayton Valley for his sophomore season. The Pioneer understands that Bamberger was a finalist for the Clayton Valley job this month.
The new Ugly Eagles coach has spent the 20 years since graduating from Saint Mary’s in 2000 in the family business: basketball. His dad has run Excel Basketball Camp since 1981 and Allocco Jr. has been on the coaching staff for a majority of that time. He was on the De La Salle staff from 2001-2014, primarily as a varsity assistant.
He founded Advanced Skills Academy in 2004 and added Prime Basketball for year-round AAU teams seven years ago. He currently runs 25 Prime teams for third through eighth graders and another 15 teams in the ASA program. Among the facilities his programs use is the Ultimate Fieldhouse in Walnut Creek, which he co-founded in 2016.
The Northgate and De La Salle teams coached by Allocco Sr. were known for their tenacious defense and the new CVCHS coach says all Ugly Eagles teams from frosh to varsity will build their foundation around defense and eliminating turnovers. “Our offensive style may change and adapt to our opponent but defense, eliminating turnovers (keeping them to single digits) and rebounding will ensure we get extra possessions.”
The new coach adds, “We will teach our players how to win. I am excited to coach and mentor at a school that I truly believe has unlimited potential. Being born and raised in Concord, part of my childhood was spent attending Clayton Valley games and rooting for the Ugly Eagles.
“Clayton Valley is in a great place as a school and an athletic program, and I am excited to build on the foundation that has been set by my predecessors Andrew Doss and Eric Bamberger. My high school basketball experience changed my life and remains something my teammates and I still reminisce upon as some of our fondest memories. I look forward to building on a program that the basketball community and the cities of Concord and Clayton can continue to showcase as a source of community pride,” said Allocco Jr.
He went to Mountain View Elementary School and El Dorado Middle School while he played for St. Agnes CYO basketball teams. He transferred to Foothill Middle School when his dad began coaching at nearby Northgate.
In the recently completed 2019-20 season, the Ugly Eagles were 19-8 overall and finished second in the Diablo Athletic League, earning the No. 3 seed in the NCS Division I playoffs. They were upset by Heritage of Brentwood in the opening round, the second time in three years CVCHS was eliminated by lower seeded Heritage in the Section playoffs.
“Coach Allocco comes highly recommended as a coach that will work tirelessly to ensure our success both on and off the court,” said school principal Jeff Anderson.
CVCHS athletic director Bob Ralston adds, “We are excited to have Frank lead our men’s basketball program. He has a great reputation as a teacher of skill development. Frank has passion, energy and will motivate our players to be successful on and off the court.”
The first big challenge for the new coach is getting a chance to meet his players and get them on the court under the current shelter in place guidelines. Allocco says that he’s learned a lot about Zoom and remote training in the past two months, some of which he says he will incorporate into his regimen on a regular basis.
Allocco Jr. says his two SMC coaches, Ernie Kent and Dave Bollwinkel, along with Clayton Valley alum and Excel coach Brian Sullivan are coaching mentors along with his dad.