San Benito has 8 coaches on its staff that previously played
Haybaler football
HOLLISTER
Football coaches are constantly preparing their players for the next play, the next game, the next level. It’s a one-game-at-a-time mentality in sports, and it is rather difficult to ever look beyond that.
But San Benito High head coach Chris Cameron has a growing knack of developing his players full circle, beyond the next play, the next level. With eight former Haybalers on his coaching staff, stretching from the freshman, junior varsity and varsity levels, Cameron has coached six of them before.
“We must have done something right along the way,” Cameron said.
It is, of course, difficult to tell at the moment which of the current players will be future coaches at SBHS. But although the game still has a one-game-at-a-time mentality, promoting a strong work ethic and sense of commitment into your football players now is a sure-fire way to develop football coaches in the future.
“They bring experience with them. Been there, done that,” Cameron said. “They bring experience and they’ve been coached in the system. They bring a drive for the game and maybe something we instilled in them back then.
“Philosophy-wise, we haven’t changed. It’s still hard work and get-after-it and commitment, and those guys played under that regime and they’re able to bring that back.”
Bryan Smith, Matt Andrade and Luis Espinoza are all former Haybalers currently coaching football at SBHS, whereas Ty Doty, Steve Gaitan, Jay Ehret, Jason Kearns and Andy Parra may have had a leg-up on the competition when applying for an open coaching position at San Benito, as they were all coached under Cameron.
The most recent graduate is Doty, who left the high school grounds as a student in 2004 and returned as a coach this season.
Interestingly enough, Doty went to Bethany College in Lindsborg, Kan., where Jason Kearns, who now coaches the wide receivers and defensive backs on the varsity team, was his student coach.
Doty was an offensive lineman for the ‘Balers, but injuries sidelined his playing career in college. Coming back to coach at SBHS was a way to stay close to the field.
“Dealing with the young kids,” said Doty, who coaches the offensive and defensive line for the freshman team, “they’re great as individuals. But they’re coming out and they want to be a part of something big, and I don’t think they understand how big it is … The strains of coaching.
“The freshman is the hardest to do, and that’s where you learn your temper. You learn about the game and how kids learn.”
Although he’s not mimicking any previous coach he’s had, Doty says he’s more or less just trying to keep the kids coming back.
“The one style is that I don’t want to put too much strain on these little hoggies,” Doty said. “They come out their first year and I don’t want to scare them away.”
If looking for Cameron’s secret as to why he has so many of his former players return to coach, it may just be his persistence.
Kearns, a wide receiver for the ‘Balers when he graduated in 2000, said he was asked three times by Cameron to be a part of the ‘Baler staff.
At first, Kearns was part of an EMT class, and was later coaching basketball at Spring Grove before he finally gave in.
“It was something I wanted to do. I missed it, I really did,” Kearns said. “It’s awesome to come back and help out with the program that you help build.
“The tradition here is great.”
The game goes to far greater depths of preparation than when Bryan Smith played, a 1993 graduate from SBHS and the varsity team’s current offensive coordinator. Although he didn’t play under Cameron, the head coach called him to be the team’s OC after similar stints with Gavilan College and the Central Coast Barnstormers, a local semi-pro football team.
“It’s something I always wanted to be a part of, coming back to my high school and be a coach,” Smith said. “Preparation can be overwhelming at times, but the excitement and the passion the kids play with, and the coaches coach with, makes it that much better than any other level I’ve been a part of.”
Said Cameron, “They’ve all come full circle.”
