Ferndale Alum Herb Goliday Named New Basketball Coach

From one former player to another.

The Ferndale High School varsity basketball program has a new coach, but it will be a very familiar face.

Eagles athletic director Shaun Butler announced this week that Herb Goliday is taking over the school’s basketball team for .

Like Staton, Goliday is a Ferndale alum who found success on the hard court as a student-athlete.

Goliday played for the Eagles in the early ‘90s and went on to play college basketball at Central Michigan and Wayne State University.

Staton made Goliday his assistant coach when he was hired in 2010. Goliday, who is a physical education teacher in the district, went on to coach junior varsity before taking last year off from coaching when his wife had the couple’s first child.

When Staton resigned, one of his first calls was to Goliday to see if he was interested in the position. The idea of returning to the bench to be the head coach at his Alma mater was a no-brainer for Goliday. He applied for the opening with a recommendation from Staton.

His familiarity with the school immediately made him one of the top candidates during the interview process.

“We had a number of quality applicants, but no one who had such a passion for the district,” Butler said in a phone interview on Thursday night.

Goliday also impressed Butler with his stated focus for the position.

“I had coaches come in and guarantee 15-win, 18-win seasons, but the first thing Herb said was, 'I guarantee you we’ll run the program the right way,'" Butler said.

Ferndale’s athletic director is confident Goliday will do both.

Goliday takes over an Eagles team . They won their first conference title since 1995 and the school’s first district title in 13 years.

Butler said Goliday’s experience and knowledge would help him make the program a success for years to come.  

“He is totally fired up,” Butler said. “When we told the kids, they were fired up and so were the parents. Everyone is really excited.”