Eric Sorenson
“You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.” – Wayne Gretzky
Andrew Yates’ intentions were simple.
His primary goal was to be a high school varsity head football coach.
Just two months removed from helping lead ALA-West Foothills to the 2024 3A State Championship Game as an assistant (and JV head coach), Yates began applying for head positions, mostly just for interviewing experience and to gain a better understanding of the process.
His “foot in the door” moment so-to-speak came this winter from Bourgade Catholic High School, a three-time Arizona State Championship program, which has fallen on hard times in recent years.
“I just got really lucky,” Yates said to the “Zone Read” in a recent interview. “I think it was a timing thing…in a sense, they took a chance on me.”
In some ways, Bourgade Catholic and Yates took a chance on each other.
The Reality
The Eagles have lost 20-consecutive games entering Friday’s season opener at San Pasqual Valley, located on the outskirts of Yuma, just across the California state line.
Yates is the fourth BCHS head coach in four years.
A look inside the numbers last season is staggering, and almost non-believable.
The 0-8 Eagles were outscored 341-18.
They never scored more than six points in any game and averaged just two points per contest in Metro East Region play.
Two points.
Two.
Yates knows what happened in the past is in the past, and believes both sides have nothing to lose, and everything to gain.
The vision, at least on paper, is simple: build the football program together with aligned goals and expectations.
“I get a feeling for people,” the 29-year-old thoughtfully explained. “I could tell [in my interviews] they were good people, and they really cared about kids. They really [want] this football team to be great.
“What they were really looking for was consistency with the kids.”
Be Who You Are
Within a few minutes of our conversation, it quickly became apparent Yates’ transparency is genuine and humble.
“With everything I do, I’m myself. I’m myself with the kids. I’m myself when I’m in front of a camera doing an interview. They were able to see that.”
BCHS, who has moved from 3A to 2A this season and won’t field a freshman or JV team, currently has a roster 47 players – important depth for Yates, who has the luxury of a two-deep roster.
For perspective, the Eagles were forced to forfeit their homecoming game last year against Florence because they simply couldn’t safety field a team that week due to injuries, academic issues, and other – let’s call them – “factors.”
Yates’ message and “buy in” have gotten through since arriving on campus.
He and his staff had to order additional practice jerseys and girdles due to the renewed interest around campus for the program.
“It’s a good problem to have,” he said flashing a smile.
Make it Right
One of Yates’ first goals this spring was changing the mindset of the returning players who, unfairly, have experienced an underwhelming brand of football at the 340-student central Valley school.
“How do we make football fun for these kids,” said Yates. “Obviously, football isn’t very much fun if you’re not winning.
Bourgade Catholic puts together a nice drive during the red zone portion of the scrimmage. pic.twitter.com/s7U32hKOmk
— BJ Media (@BJMedia1) August 15, 2025
“All these small things that are considered ‘staples of football.’ Hard, long days on the field. Long conditioning sessions after practice.
“I don’t do that. We don’t do a single conditioning exercise in my program.”
There’s a method to Yates’ madness.
“What are the things that are keeping athletes from other sports away from football [at Bourgade],” he asked. “How do I eliminate those things and do what’s best for the athlete and say, ‘Hey, basketball players, soccer players, baseball players – athletically, what can you get from football and take back to your main sport?’
“We’ve attracted a lot of multi-sport athletes.”
A Different Approach
Yates’ blueprint to fix the fractured Eagles’ program likely isn’t aligned with many other programs.
While Bourgade Catholic doesn’t do post-practice conditioning, they get their bodies, and minds, right in other ways.
“I’m completely different, I’m a performance guy,” Yates, who played tight end at Northwestern Oklahoma State and North Greenville University, explained. “I run my weight room. I structure practice around the performance of my athletes.
“I have my guys do breathing exercises before each and every practice…some think it’s weird.
“I said, ‘I need you to trust me. I understand that’s hard for you, but what I can promise you is what you see today is what you’ll see every day, regardless of what’s going on outside of practice.’”
Your job as a coach is to maximize the performance of your athletes. Knowing this, why wouldn’t everything you do be structured around performance?
— Coach Andrew Yates (@CoachADYates) March 30, 2025
A husband and father of young twins, Yates insists his team will never see him tired.
He preached patience with his group, one made of players who have never experienced winning, in the spring.
The early results were positive as the team got stronger, both physically and mentally.
Yates believes the time together has built a bond within the program.
“These kids will run through a wall for me,” he said, flashing a proud smile. “That’s because they know I’ll do the same for them.”
