The goal was to lose weight, not to become a head coach. But that is what has happened to Andrew Tachias. The Riverside Police Department officer, who was wounded in an alleged shooting spree by ex-Los Angeles Police Department officer in 2013, has become Covina High Schools cross country coach. He replaces Erik Starkey. I always thought in the back of my mind about coaching, Tachias said. I never thought it would work out, but the opportunity presented itself. Actually, its probably the last thing Tachias, 28, thought he would be doing. I expected to be a police officer for 30 years, he said. I trained and worked hard for that. It all changed on Feb. 7, 2013. He was on patrol when he and partner Michael Crain were allegedly ambushed in a hailstorm of gunfire at a Riverside intersection by the suspect. Crain died and Tachias was shot eight times. The suspect had just allegedly fired shots at a pair of LAPD officers and was fleeing the scene when he came across Tachias and Crain, waiting at a stoplight in southwest Riverside. It had not even been called in yet, Tachias recalled. I guess he thought we were responding to the shooting. He suffered two broken arms and had to have a shoulder replaced. The injuries have caused nerve damage that affects both hands and frequently gives him shoulder problems. He is recuperating from his third surgery on his right hand. He expects to have more surgeries in the future. Its been tough to have my life changed, he said. The worst is over. His fiance has had to quit her full-time job to help Tachias, who is still on medical leave from the police department. He had joined the department three months earlier after working for the Inglewood Police Department for the previous three years. Tachias needed something to do while recuperating from his injuries. He cannot use his injured hands post-surgery and he was pretty much stuck at home sitting and watching television. He admits he began gaining too much weight. He first started cycling to solve that problem. It led to his return to running. He won a CIF-Southern Section 3,200-meter title for Covina in 2003 and then the events CIF-SS Masters title in 04. He finished third in the CIF State meet in the 3,200 that year. Im down 40 pounds, he said of the reason he returned to running to begin with. Thats good. Tachias still holds the Covina High 3,200 track record and competed for four years for UC Riverside. While sitting and watching television, he decided to contact his high school cross country coach, Starkey, about becoming a volunteer coach for the recently completed season. It gave me something to do, Tachias said. I havent been able to do anything for awhile. It was perfect timing. Unbeknownst to Tachias, Starkey would be retiring after coaching the Colts cross country program for six years and leading the Colts girls track and field team for four years before that. It has been a blessing watching Andrew come all the way back from that horrific event and to now see him and (new girls coach) Craig Henry keep moving this program forward, said Starkey, who coached Tachias when he ran at Covina and will continue to teach English at Covina. The Colts had their best season ever, with both the boys and girls teams advancing to the CIF State meet for the first time. The boys finished second in the CIF-SS Division 4 finals to Bishop Amat and the girls finished third. The Colts won five Valle Vista boys titles and four girls titles in Starkeys six seasons. We wanted to inspire him to help him through all hes been through, senior Kevin Herrera, who finished 11th at last falls CIF State meet, said of Tachias. When he came here, we knew people would be there for him and we knew he would be there for us as a coach. He made a huge impact on the team. Im glad he was there. He motivated us to be our best. He was a successful runner and now he is offering his best.
Posted on: Fri, 16 Jan 2015 19:34:11 +0000
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