Ralph Amsden
I had a chance to head out to the AIA Championship Media Day on Monday, where I talked to the eight head coaches that lead their teams to the 2024 the 4A- Open Championships.
The one thing competitive schools have always had in common when it comes to football- the administration invests. Not just money, but time, effort, energy, and most importantly… patience.
Centennial’s Richard Taylor was in his 12th year as a head coach before he won his first playoff game. Could you imagine a school even going half that long in this day and age without making a switch? And how was the Centennial community rewarded for their patience? The Coyotes are about to play in their 13th championship game in the last 20 years.
And of course no one was surprised to see the Chandler Unified School District represented in two different state finals- but what about newcomer Mica Mountain out of Tucson? Certainly it’s no coincidence that a school where the Principal, Athletic Director, and Head Football Coach are all longtime southern Arizona football mainstays, went undefeated and made a state championship in its fifth year of existence.
Here’s what each coach had to say about how their Administration and surrounding community “invests” in the team’s success.
Coach Steven Vaught- Arizona College Prep
“Definitely a key for having a successful football program is the support and cohesiveness of administration and football coaches. The first big one is administration supporting the head coach’s vision of what they want their program to be, and backing that vision.
I know one key example at ACP this year for me was the out-of-state game to Crownpoint (Indiana). There were was a lot of hurdles, and a little bit of backlash against doing it because of how expensive it was, and those dynamics. My AD Jamie McClure did a great job of supporting it and helping make it happen, and like it’s been noted many times that that game was huge for us as a team, and in many ways and and helped us with the success of our season.
The next thing is administration coaches being on the same page for the betterment of the players in the program. So if a player does something to get in trouble, Administration and coaches being on the same page about handling that discipline, and helping that player learn from that mistake and grow as as a person and athlete. Working together on those challenges on campus and off-campus with the players in the program is is huge.
The last one is Administration allocating funds towards the football program- you know it’s obviously a really expensive program to run as far as all the coaches and upkeep of equipment and things like that, so administration being able to help out with getting enough funds to be able to field a full coaching staff, and updating equipment needs such as sleds, shoots, step covers, tackling dummies gets pretty expensive. Along with constantly getting new helmets, shoulder pads, jerseys and things that have to be renewed and updated- it’s definitely not cheap to do that. I would say those are the big three things that that I’ve observed throughout the years.”
Mica Mountain Head Coach Pat Nugent
“We’re real fortunate. Our principal was at Cienega, Nemer Hassey, and our AD Jay Campos was at Sabino. Nemer had a vision about building his own school, and he talked myself and Jay Campos into it. When you bring legendary Tucson football coaches into the administration, the map that we put together was pretty good. It was easy to get it going in a hurry, and the facilities at Mica Mountain are unbelievable. It was neat to have all our hands involved in building Mica Mountain.
As a coach, it’s an unbelievable opportunity to walk into your boss’s office and they understand what you want and what you need. There’s not a lot of fighting, and they’re willing to spend and do what it takes. And with a brand new school, you have a little bit of opportunity finacially to put money into your program, and that’s what we did from the start.
I think a lot of peoople don’t understand that even though we’re an Open Enrollment school, because of the growth, we’re a boundary school. We’ve had a few hurdles, because a lot of the things we thought about how we were going to grow and expand, but that stopped because we just couldn’t build any more. So all of our kids have to live withing a specific square mileage, and there are hundreds and hundreds of kids that want to get into Mica Mountain, but they can’t get in, and that’s been tough. But we’ve handled that, and we have a great nucleus of kids.”
Cactus Head Coach Brian Belles
“All of our meetings with our prinicpal end with ‘What can I do to support you.’ We’re a smaller school, so we have to work hand-in-hand to compete against schools that have twice our enrollment. It takes a village to raise our kids, and our administraton being on the same pages with the coaches and teachers to do whatever needs to be done in order for us to be successful is vital.
Being at a smaller, older school, it’s not typical to be in so many big games year in an year out, but I think our kids take that and run with it because that’s the culture that’s been set. And the community support doesn’t just influence how successful we are on the football field- it helps Robotics, our CTE program, and it helps make us an A rated school. The comunity support and administrative help is why our principal calls Cactus the hidden gem of the west.”
Desert Edge Head Coach Henri MacArthur
“I would definitely say that we have a super supportive administrative team. Our Principal Gretchen Hann is from Pittsburgh and a big Steelers fan, a big football fan, and she’s always at every game- home and away, which means a lot to us as coaches, as well to the players. She’s there whenever I need her, and in constant communication.
Our Athletic Director Pete Jelovic is a football guy, played at Kansas State back in the day, and coached at South Dakota State, so he’s always in the mix. They’re both always around asking me what I need to help make us successful.
I would say to school like Desert Edge, it’s even more important that the administration team is hands-on and supportive because we are a Title One school, and from my experience in Arizona high school football, we’re one of the few schools with our kind of demographics as far as free and reduced lunch rates and different things that have a successful football program. That doesn’t happen without a ton of support from the administration working hands on with the coaching staff, and working hands on with the kids. It takes a village at Desert Edge to to make everybody successful- so it’s a every day constant communication.
I’m always in and around the building. I meet with our AD once a week, every single Sunday, for at least an hour about the week, the previous game- but then we’re in constant communication during the week. Same thing with Miss Hann, and our athletic secretary Sandy Garcia. I check in with her every day to make sure we’re good on buses and practice fields. It really a team effort and an every day thing, so it’s it’s normal to me because that’s what I’ve been dealing with. I don’t know what other schools do or don’t do, but that’s what’s worked for us, and with the unique circumstances of trying to make a Title One school super successful in a big sport that traditionally Title One schools are not successful in, I think that’s a big credit to the administration as well as to all the coaches that have preceded me that I’ve had the pleasure of working with like Coach Wellbrock, Coach Lucero and Coaches Mark and Marcus Carter.”
Centennial Head Coach Richard Taylor
“If I could give three suggestions on how an administration can build a culture of winning, the first thing you have to do is get the kids buy into the weight room, the second is you have to give examples of leadership so kids can see what it looks and sounds like, and third, you have to hire good coaches.
I used to go to our feeder schools and have all the kids tell me they were going to Peoria, but after a few years, we became a winning progam, and kids started to come our way.
When you first start a school, like we did back in the day with just freshmen at Centennial, parents and kids at a new school are all in, but you really see that winning is what makes people come around the most. And we have 12 current coaches that played for me at Centennial at some point, which helps you sustain your winning culture. Especially when those families come back to re-invest in your program and culture, whether you win, lose or tie.
The young coaches I have, like Alex Escobar, can relate to these kids, and while he’s repeating to them things he learned through his time at Centennial, it hits the kids different when he says it because I’m their great-grandparents’ age. Players coming back to invest their time in the program helps just as much as a supportive administration.”
Mountain View Head Coach Andy Litten
“I think it starts with expectation. You have to want to win. When I went from Marana to Hamilton, the Chandler district expectation was to win champoinships. And they give you everything you need to get there. That was really eye-opening for me. And when I went to Horizon, I was able to help bring that mentality and those expectations with me.
Now at Mountain View, that midset meshes really well. Our principal, Dr. Oliver wants us to win just as much as I do, and if given the option, he’d come into our locker room at halftime and give speeches.
You can’t have an administration who’s first answer is no. They have to be curious enough to look into ideas without dismissing them. Mesa’s district Athletic Director Tommy Eubanks has a mission to make Mesa as successful as Chandler. But if you want to make Red Mountain vs Moutain View as big of a game as Hamilton vs Chandler, our schools need to be surrounded by guys to who constantly ask ‘how can I help you.'”
Liberty Head Coach Collin Thomas
“Our principal Mr. Duguid and our AD Mr. Gardner, they support us, anything we need. The school is constantly trying to promote and energize us, and our student council is always doing things to make sure it’s a good culture. It’s a very fun thing for the student body to be part of the football atmosphere that we have at Liberty, and the guys on the team appreciate it. Our boosters and community do a great job too. Football takes a lot of money, and they’re constantly working hard to make sure our kids have the best experience possible.”
Basha Head Coach Chris McDonald
“You know the district’s slogan- Second to None. They wan’t all the their schools to compete and be the best in all things, not just athletics. Adminstration is pretty engaged with making sure you have the resources to compete at a championship level, And on top of that, Marques Reischl is the principal, and before that, Reischl was the AD that hired me. He’s the former offensive coordinator at Basha, and he’s been an offensive coordinator at the D2 level, so he’s a football guy.
My AD, Eric Magana, played football and basketball at Highland, and was a basketball coach- so you have two guys with coaching experience so they know the trials and tribulations we face, and are proactive in making sure they know what resources we need.
The district just converted our fields to turf, and we just got a brand new fieldhouse, locker room and team room. That could be from the community support of passing the bond, or it could be a matter of Basha’s success attracting kids and the district wanting to invest in that success.
Our assistants also see how engaged our administration is, and so I think guys like Coach Felker and Coach Jones know they can hang around their family and coach ball, without dealing with some of the adminstrative stuff they’d gone through elsewhere, because it’s all handled here in a way that allows them to focus on ball. Who wouldn’t want that opportunity?”
