Frank Reyes wasn’t searching for a coaching job when the Anzar High football head coaching position opened up.
In the back of his mind, however, Reyes knew he loved working with youth and helping players improve their skills in the classroom and on the field. Reyes, 51, took the position last month in place of Luis Espinoza, who was the school’s football coach since the program’s inception in 2011.
“My hands had been pretty full with youth football, but when this opportunity came up, I had to consider it,” said Reyes, who is one of the founders of the Tri-County Rebels, a local youth football organization. “It took a lot of pondering because it’s a tremendous time commitment from the family, so of course I talked with my wife (Roberta), and she was very supportive of it. It’s a good opportunity and I’m excited about the challenge.”
A 14-year Hollister resident, Reyes inherits a program that made tremendous progress since its infancy, recording more wins each successive season under Espinoza. In addition to coaching the Rebels Midgets (12 to 14-year-olds) for the past four years, Reyes also coached one year as an assistant defensive backs coach at San Francisco State in the late 1980s.
Born and raised in San Francisco, Reyes attended Capuchino High in San Bruno before attending a couple of community colleges and ultimately graduating from UC Santa Barbara.
Reyes has already been working with the team during the summer participatory period, focusing on conditioning and the basics.
“A lot of the kids have never played football or organized sports until they come here and try out for the team,” Reyes said. “There’s not a lot of previous football experience, so a big emphasis this year will be on fundamentals like footwork, handwork and positioning. We want to make sure the kids acquire the agility skills necessary to excel in this sport.”
Reyes said he expects to have 32 to 35 players by the start of the season, which would be a nice number for a team that plays 8-man football. Taking the job made plenty of sense for Reyes, whose Rebels teams practice at Anzar.
Reyes’ two sons also attend San Juan Elementary School, and he already knew members of the Anzar teaching staff. Reyes credited Espinoza for doing a solid job, and he wants to enhance Anzar’s reputation for producing strong student-athletes.
“Our first goal obviously is to help produce superior students,” he said. “Anzar has a well documented scholastic legacy, and we would like to contribute to that. As far as the football side of things, our goal is to always win the next game, to be on the uphill side of .500 and ultimately to win a league championship.”
Reyes said he’s glad that Jason Russell stayed on as the offensive coordinator; Russell was an assistant under Espinoza.
