Gilroy’s five assistant coaches know the system well after
playing for the Mustangs
Gilroy – Rich Hammond has ties to the area, but not nearly as much as five of his assistants.
Whereas Hammond graduated from San Benito High School, Steve Lo, Will Lawrence, Greg Garcia, Willie Gamboa and Rich Martinez are all Gilroy High graduates. There may be some good-natured kidding about rivalries between Hammond and his assistants. And yet Hammond, the Mustangs’ first-year head coach, realizes the value of having GHS alums on staff.
“It’s important having coaches that care about the community, that know the community,” said Hammond, an assistant at Gilroy before taking his first head coaching position at Santa Clara High. “You always have a lot of pride where you grew up. That’s human nature.
“Being a Gilroy Mustang means more to them than someone from outside the area. That’s just the way it is.”
The quintet couldn’t be happier coaching at their alma mater. And nobody was happier a week ago Friday than the second most experienced of the quintet, Greg Garcia.
A 1995 GHS graduate in his fourth year as an assistant, Garcia became a father for the first time when his daughter, Avery was born at 2 pm. He hustled over to Gilroy High for the game against Salinas, which the Mustangs won 36-14.
“It doesn’t get any better than that,” said Garcia, 29, the defensive coordinator. “My wife had a baby and we started conference with a win.”
Garcia comes by coaching naturally. His father, John Garcia, coached for 38 years and is a volunteer assistant this season at GHS. Ever since he can remember, Greg was going to football games.
“I always knew I wanted to coach,” said Garcia, who was a linebacker/defensive end at GHS and Gavilan. “I started going to practice when I was 5.”
Martinez, class of 1984, returned this year for his third tour of duty with the Mustangs. He is defensive line coach and also an assistant track and field coach.
“I always wanted to help bring back Gilroy to its glory,” Martinez said.
Lawrence, a 2002 graduate, was a tight end at GHS and Gavilan before moving on to Dakota State in South Dakota. He is in his first year as an assistant, coaching the wide receivers.
“I love it; it’s a lot of fun,” Lawrence said. “I always knew I wanted to come back and help coach.”
Like Lawrence, Gamboa and Lo are members of the class of 2002. Gamboa, a linebacker also played at Gavilan. Lo, a lineman in his fourth year coaching the offensive line, went straight to San Jose State. The three have been best friends since their freshman year at Gilroy. All share the same passion for beating rival San Benito, which none has experienced as a coach.
But Lo and Garcia did experience the highs of the 2004 campaign when the Mustangs were one point away from starting 8-0, the only loss 7-6 to the Haybalers. Gilroy finished 8-4, advancing to the second round of the CCS playoffs.
“That’s the only time I was part of a team that got out of the first round (as a player or coach),” Lo said. “Beating Palma that season was also a high point. Things were just clicking that season. Everyone was picking each other up.
“We over-achieved that year. Nobody thought that we would be a 7-3 playoff team.”
Lo says he also always wanted to coach, after tagging along with his older brother, Gary, to GHS games. And yet it wasn’t necessarily with the Mustangs.
“(Former head coach Darren) Yafai talked me into it, and then I talked Will and Willie into it,” Lo said. “When we thought about it, we all thought it would be kind of neat.”
When the opportunity presented itself, Gamboa was quick to jump on board.
“I always knew I wanted to come back and help any way I could,” he said.
They are all helping to try and restore Mustang pride.
“It’s getting the community and town to know the tradition of Gilroy football,” Lo said. “It’s working toward building something respectable.”
What better way to start than with five young men who understand what it is like to wear the uniform.
