Greg Garcia’s has his dream job, now he needs to figure out
which pieces fit where.
The new head coach of Gilroy High football has been putting his
stamp on the program since spring practices started Tuesday despite
keeping most of the assistant coaching staff and terminology for
the offense the same from the past two seasons.
Greg Garcia’s has his dream job, now he needs to figure out which pieces fit where.
The new head coach of Gilroy High football has been putting his stamp on the program since spring practices started Tuesday despite keeping most of the assistant coaching staff and terminology for the offense and defense the same from the past two seasons.
“He tells you what he expects and he expects you to do it without having to yell,” said cornerback Nico Sandoval, referencing Garcia’s animated predecessor Rich Hammond, who coached the Mustangs to a 23-11 record in three seasons before leaving to take a coaching job at Clovis High School.
The Mustangs are coming off back-to-back league titles, never before done at Gilroy, placing pressure on Garcia to keep the bar high. The new coach says he wouldn’t want it any other way though.
“It’s about teaching commitment and making the kids work hard all the time,” Garcia said.
“We haven’t really changed anything much so practices are running pretty smooth.”
While the spread offense Hammond installed two years ago is still intact, the players have changed.
Nick Marra will be a senior next season, and he will be filling the shoes of quarterback Jamie Jensen, who broke every GHS passing record in two seasons by compiling more than 7,500 yards passing and tossing 70 touchdowns. Marra said he’s excited about the opportunity to prove himself after completing 68.5 percent of his passes for 473 yards and five touchdowns in limited action as a junior last season.
“I’ve been waiting for this for a while,” Marra said.
The loss of several playmakers on both sides of the ball will make the transition tough but nothing outside the norm.
“You just find new key players,” Garcia said. “It’s part of the game.”
On offense, Bryan Sanchez is the top returning receiver, while Michael Aldridge will take over full-time as a tight end after seeing his playing time increase at the end of last season. Julius Travis, who will be a junior next year, is being viewed as the favorite to handle the bulk of the rushing duties.
The defense returns several key players in linebacker Logan Sweeney, safety Jordan Holler and Sandoval. Nick Gibson will anchor the defensive line while Eric Vegas is expected to be a force whether he plays defensive end or linebacker.
“We lost a lot of seniors but a lot of our [defensive players] were juniors, and a lot of the juniors that didn’t play were good enough to fill spots (last season),” Sandoval said.
While position battles will take place later in the summer, spring practices, which will run through the end of next week, are more about teaching technique, building team chemistry and introducing newcomers from junior varsity to what is expected on the varsity level.
“We’re here just to work – find the right people and work as a team” Sanchez said.
