WESTWOOD— After five successful seasons of leadership, mentorship, and service to the Geffen Academy at UCLA community, Fernando Duran has made the difficult decision to step away from his role as Girls Varsity Basketball Head Coach.

Duran, who has led the Bruins for the past five years, shared that his decision comes as he looks to devote more time to his family and, in particular, to being present for his daughter during an important stage of her life.

“After a lot of conversations, reflection, and consideration with my family, I have made the very difficult decision to step away,” Duran said. “It is not a decision I am making because I have lost my passion for coaching, our athletes, or Geffen. Quite the opposite. This is one of the hardest decisions I have ever had to make because Geffen Academy has truly felt like home.”

Throughout his tenure, Duran helped shape the identity and culture of Geffen Academy girls basketball while making an impact that extended well beyond wins and losses. His commitment to developing student-athletes, building relationships, and mentoring young Bruins has been an important part of the program’s growth. Under his tutelage, Geffen Academy made multiple playoff appearances (2021-22, 2022-2023, 2023-24 and 2024-25) and had many All-Coastal League honorees. 

“Geffen Academy Athletics is deeply grateful to Coach Duran for the time, energy, and care he has invested in the program and, most importantly, in our student-athletes,” Athletic Director David Collicutt said. “We thank him for five years of leadership and for the countless hours he devoted to helping our athletes grow as basketball players, teammates, leaders, and young people. We wish Fernando and his family nothing but the best in this next chapter.

Arrington Named Next Girls Varsity Head Coach

As the program begins its next chapter, Geffen Academy is excited to announce that Celinda Arrington will take over as the school’s next Girls Varsity Basketball Head Coach.

For Bruin student-athletes and families, Arrington is already a familiar presence. She has served as an assistant coach with the varsity program since 2021, working alongside Duran. Her transition to the head coaching position provides important continuity while also giving Arrington the opportunity to bring her own vision to the program.

Arrington has coached at the high school, club, and competitive travel levels. In addition to her work at Geffen Academy, she has coached with GBL Girls Travel Basketball Club and Sports Academy, helping develop young female athletes in competitive basketball environments. Earlier in her coaching career, she also served as an assistant girls basketball coach at Artesia High School.

A graduate of Bellflower High School, Arrington went on to play collegiate basketball as a guard at Bluefield College, now Bluefield University, in Virginia, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice.

At the center of Arrington’s coaching philosophy is the holistic development of the student-athlete. Her approach emphasizes basketball fundamentals and IQ alongside confidence, discipline, leadership, teamwork, health, and wellness. She believes successful programs are built through strong relationships, consistent expectations, trust, accountability, and genuine care for each student-athlete.

That philosophy has already been evident during her time at Geffen Academy. Arrington has worked closely with student-athletes on skill development, game preparation, basketball IQ, leadership, and confidence while helping foster a team culture built around accountability, teamwork, wellness, and competitive excellence.

“We’re incredibly excited for Coach Arrington to build upon our program’s success as the next leader of Geffen Academy girls basketball,” Collicutt added.