Baler QB coach reflects on season
He’s the new offensive coordinator this year at San Benito High
School. But anyone who follows football in the area should already
know the name Bryan Smith. For the last three years Smith has been
the quarterbacks coach at Gavilan College in Gilroy and since 2000
Smith has quarterbacked the Central Coast Barnstormers of the
Northern California Amateur Football Federation to numerous
championship games.
Baler QB coach reflects on season
He’s the new offensive coordinator this year at San Benito High School. But anyone who follows football in the area should already know the name Bryan Smith. For the last three years Smith has been the quarterbacks coach at Gavilan College in Gilroy and since 2000 Smith has quarterbacked the Central Coast Barnstormers of the Northern California Amateur Football Federation to numerous championship games.
An alumnus of San Benito High, Smith quarterbacked the Balers to a Monterey Bay League championship in 1993 – the same year he was named MVP of the league. After graduating from high school, he went on to play football at Gavilan and at California State University, Chico before graduating in 1999 with a B.A. in Physical Education.
Since then he has taught life sciences at Margaret Maze Middle School and at Sacred Heart in Hollister before he accepted a teaching position this fall at San Benito High.
During his time with the Barnstormers, which ended this season after a personal injury, Smith also had stints as the team’s general manager and offensive coordinator. In his eight seasons with the team, Smith had a 57-percent completion rate, threw for more than 6,200 yards and tossed 62 touchdowns and 39 interceptions. In 2003, after throwing 22 touchdowns and only 7 interceptions, Smith was named to the league’s national all-star team, where he quarterbacked the West Coast All-Star squad. Three years from now the 32-year-old athlete will be eligible for semi-pro football’s Hall of Fame ballot.
Recently, we had a chance to talk with Smith about returning to his high school alma mater to coach the Baler offense and his goals for the current football season.
Q: How has all of your quarterbacking experience helped you as a coach?
A: I’m still trying to make the adjustment to not be as emotionally involved in the game as I was when I was playing. As a quarterback, I’ve always worn my emotions on my sleeve. I’m working on controlling that better as a coach. As a former quarterback, one thing that helps me is that I believe that I’m able to see the defensive secondary better. I think I’m also better able to adjust to the flow of the game. As a longtime player, I’ve learned that all games have so many ups and downs and that’s helped me as a coach to remain calmer.
Q: Ronnie Fhurong is the Balers starting quarterback. How much do you work with him and how do you see him developing as a player?
A: We worked most every day together over the summer. I think he has a strong arm. I’d like to see some more fundamentals out of him and being more of a team leader, but he definitely works hard. He’s a good athlete and he leaves it all on the field each week. He also enjoys being the go-to guy.
Q: The football program at this school is recognized as one of the best in the Central Coast Section year in and year out. This year, however, the team has struggled a bit. Last week, things turned around a bit and you beat Wilcox High to pick up the first win of the season. What did you do differently or better last week?
A: I don’t know how much differently we did anything. We ran a lot of the same plays, but we did so out of different formations. We gave them a number of different looks. I think the big difference was that the coaching staff approached the week with the understanding of the need for more high-intensity, and it rolled over to the players. The team’s intensity level showed. We had great practices all week and we were able to apply that on Friday night.
Q: Although the team is 1-2, what is the biggest positive you’ve seen so far this season?
A: I see that their confidence is building each week – not only as a team but in their confidence in the play calling too. They are working together better and they are starting to believe in their teammates as well as the guys who are calling the plays.
Q: With that said, what areas do you see the greatest need for improvement?
A: The overall execution of plays. Some of these plays have been in the playbook here forever, since when I went to school here. Those are the plays that everyone should know – the ones that we should be able to execute perfectly every game.
Q: As mentioned, this school is a perennial CCS powerhouse. Making the playoffs each year is expected. Do you expect this team to make the playoffs and is anything missing from the equation that could prevent them from getting there?
A: I’m not sure that anything is missing. We have a lot of sophomores on this team so the overall team leadership is not there yet. So far there has not been one guy who has taken this team and led it. They are coming together and working hard but this team needs a single person to lead it. We haven’t seen that yet. Maybe one of the young guys will step up. We have a couple of good juniors and sophomores, and seniors as well, but we haven’t seen the vocal leadership yet.
Q: What coaching philosophy have you brought with you to this team that you are trying to instill in the players?
A: That’s a funny question in a sense. I’ve coached at Gavilan [quarterbacks coach] the last three years and I’ve done my little thing with the Barnstormers. I like to pass the ball to set up the run, not necessarily pass more but I’m limited in this offense. So I guess I’m still trying to find my philosophy here.
Q: Wasn’t that the philosophy of Bill Walsh? That sounds like him.
A: (Smith laughs)
Q: Does this offense compare at all to what the Barnstormers or Gavilan ran?
A: It compares in the sense that the Barnstormers ran a lot of misdirection stuff. The Barnstormers had a lot of different formations. We don’t necessarily have that luxury here but we are working on it.
Q: When you’re putting together an offense, what type of player are you looking for at this level?
A: I’m looking for work ethic. I’m looking for a guy who works his tail off and has some talent. Not necessarily a vocal leader, but someone who leads by example both on and off the field, in the classroom and in the weight room. If I were to toss out one name the first player to come to mind is Timmy Lango for his leadership and work ethic. (Lango was the team’s leading rusher last season. This year he plays for Gavilan College.)
Q: What are some of the goals that you set for the Baler offense this year?
A: Going into the season we had some high goals. We wanted to score 24 points a game, have a 70 percent completion ratio for passes and a 90 percent success rate in the red zone. We’re not there yet but some of these goals are still attainable. We just need to trust each other as a team.
Q: Although the team has struggled in the early going, the schedule has been extremely tough and most all of the games have been on the road. How do you expect this team to do once league play gets under way at the end of this month?
A: We’re going to give the TCAL [Tri County Athletic League] a run for its money, no doubt about it. We’re getting ready for Bellarmine this Friday [tonight] but we’ll be ready for league play once it starts. We’ll be fine. That’s why Chris Cameron [head coach] sets the preseason schedule up against the toughest teams so that we’ll be ready for league play.
