GO GAUCHOS!!!
Hello my name is Coach Raymond Thomas. On a personal note, I am a 1988 El Cerrito graduate. I’m married to Kim Thomas and have 3 children Devin, Justyn and Saleah. I have been coaching for over 25 year from CYO, high school, and high level AAU.
I began coaching at the age of 15. I coached my brothers CYO team at St Jeromes from 1986 to 1991. During that time, I also begin coaching at Salesian Boys Club where we won several San Francisco CYO diocese championships. In 1992, I began working with ECHS JV team till 1996. In that time we won at least 20 games each season. In 1995, I began assisting Chris Huber with the varsity squad. In 1996 I became a full time varsity assistant for the next 3 season till 1999 where EC won the ACCAL, North Coast Section, Norcal Regional and State Runner Ups. After a 3 year hiatus, I became a varsity assistant at Hercules HS in 2003 with Mark Olivier. That year we also won the ACCAL, NCS, Norcal Regional’s, and finished, unfortunately, State Runner Ups for a 2nd time in my coaching career. After another 5 years hiatus, I assisted Hercules HS for the 2008 and 2009 seasons.
Much of my coaching strategies, game experiences, and philosophy have been shaped with my time with the Oakland /Drew Gooden Soldiers AAU Club team. I have been involved with the program for 18 years. In my travels with the Soldiers, I’ve been able to coach great players like Leon Powe, Lebron James, Eddie House, Drew Gooden, and many other great bay area high school basketball players.
In closing, I am excited to be back at EC and work with Coach Michael Booker to bring Gauchos back to being one of the best basketball programs in Northern CA.