Nelson’s Long Career Will Conclude in June

GRANADA HILLS — Robert (Pete) Nelson, the cross-country and track and field co-coach at Kennedy High since it opened in 1971, will retire at the end of the school year in June.

Nelson, 58, said he still enjoys coaching, but the daily grind of teaching has taken its toll.

“I’ll be 59 1/2 in June and that’s enough,” he said. “I’ll miss the coaching, there’s no doubt about that. But the teaching part of the job wears on you. There is a lot of stress involved in teaching.”

Although Kennedy has not finished particularly high in the City Section cross-country and track championships in recent years, the school fielded some top teams from the mid-1970s through the mid-80s.

The Golden Cougar boys’ team placed second in the 1975 and ’76 City cross-country championships and was third in ’77. The girls won the 1983 title and finished second in ‘77, ‘82, ’86 and ’87 and third in ’81 and ’85.

Robert Traba (1976), Paula Bresnan (‘82) and Frances Silva (‘83) won individual City cross-country titles.

In track, Nelson and co-coach Warren Farlow have worked together since the 1972 season. The pair guided the Kennedy boys’ team to third-place finishes in the 1980, ’84 and ’85 City championships. The Golden Cougar girls won the City title in 1982 and ‘83, finished second in ’80 and ‘81, and third in ’84.

The 1980 girls’ team, led by sisters Sherri and Denean Howard, won the State championship, but Nelson said it is difficult to single out one team.

“We had so many good kids and so many good teams that they’re all special,” he said. “All the teams that won a lot of meets were pretty special. . . . The thing that pleases me most is the consistency we had for a long time.”

Nelson, who lives in Northridge with his wife Bernice, tied for third in the pole vault for University High in the 1953 State championships.

He attended UCLA after graduating from high school and earned his undergraduate degree and master’s degree in physical education in 1958 and ’60.

He taught at Patrick Henry Junior High in Granada Hills from 1960-63, before moving on to Palisades High, where he coached the cross-country and swim teams from 1963-71.