SALINAS – Owning a office solutions business for 23 years kept Brian Driscoll from pursuing his passion of putting his full attention into leading his own basketball program.
As head basketball coaching opportunities at San Ramon High and De La Salle were turned down by Driscoll, he also wondered whether he had passed up opportunities of a lifetime.
“Turning down the De La Salle job was hard,” Driscoll recalled. “I was close. I passed up a couple of good ones because the timing just wasn’t right back then. I had a business and a young family.”
When he sold his business two years ago it opened an avenue. When the Palma High position was vacated, Driscoll found a home.
“I’m at a point in my life where I’m transitioning,” said Driscoll, who was named Palma’s new basketball coach recently. “I have always loved coaching. This time the timing was right to run my own program.”
Having assisted at various levels for more than two decades, the former St. Mary’s guard didn’t know if his opportunities had run their course.
“I have dedicated my life to basketball,” Driscoll said. “I’ve always been a gym rat. The sport has been great to me. But I had a business and a young family. I couldn’t make a full commitment.”
Having seen his oldest son Luke follow in his footsteps at Stevenson in being named the Herald’s Co-Player of the Year in 2020, Driscoll felt the time was right to chase his passion.
“My first thought when the job opened up is I was surprised,” Driscoll said. “I thought it would be a good fit. It’s a sweet spot in my life. I love leadership and basketball.”
Driscoll will be replacing Kelley Lopez, who stepped down after a decade on the job, having guided Palma to a State Division IV finals appearance in 2016 and five Pacific Coast Athletic League Gabilan Division titles.
“I have never run from a challenge,” Driscoll said. “I welcome expectations. That was the appeal to me at Palma. There is a tradition of excellence. The resume here is impressive.”
To help with the transition, Driscoll will keep longtime assistants Chad and Matt Amaral, who bring more than 20 years of coaching experience.
“I have so much respect for both of them,” Driscoll said. “We had some great battles when I was at Stevenson in the 1990s. I remember driving up to watch them win a state title.”
Driscoll spent 12 years as an assistant coach at San Ramon from 2002-2014 and two years in a similar position at De La Salle.
When his family returned to the Monterey Peninsula in 2018, the Cleveland native coached Palma’s seventh- and eighth-grade teams and spent a year on Lopez’s staff in 2022.
“It’s a very special place,” Driscoll said. “I want to embrace that and put everything I have into this.”
Owners of 19 straight postseason appearances – including two in the CCS’s Open Division — the Chieftains are coming off a pair of 12-14 overall seasons.
“You don’t take a job based solely on talent,” Driscoll said. “What draws me and gets me excited are the people, tradition and leadership. I love the energy and the guys in the program.”
Driscoll won’t be a stranger next season, having coached most of the current core of players at the seventh- and eighth-grade levels two years ago.
“I’m very optimistic of us coming together as a team,” Driscoll said. “I can’t wait to lead them. I can’t underscore my excitement enough.”
While Driscoll won’t officially meet with the team until later this week, he’s already reached out to some of the players through texts.
Last year’s roster for Palma was made up of five sophomores and a freshman, all of which were brought up to play, with an emphasis on the future.
“I know a lot of the kids,” Driscoll said. “I’ve been around them before for workouts. We’ll lay out our summer schedule. There is a lot of work to do. I’m so excited to get this going.”
Driscoll may still be pinching himself. The stars hadn’t aligned in the past for this moment to come to fruition.
“You do wonder if the right opportunity will present itself again when you keep passing on jobs – good jobs,” Driscoll said. “I consider myself fortunate. I believe I have a lot to give to the game and to these kids and this school.”
