Recently hired football head coach addressing many pressing
issues in bunches
Several issues are facing the Gavilan College football program.
Players aren’t sticking around for a second season, recruiting the local athlete has taken a back seat, and at the forefront, wins are few and far between.
Newly hired head coach Spencer Gilford is adamant about solving those shortcomings and establishing a long-term solution that will lift and sustain the once prestigious junior college entity.
“I can’t really speak on what has been done in the past. I am who I am and I’m going to do things a certain way that has been successful for me in my coaching career,” Gilford said during an extensive phone interview earlier this week, which outlined a number of the head man’s goals as he addressed some of the perceived and actual concerns revolving around the program.
Hired earlier this month to rebuild and restore a winning culture at Gavilan, Gilford has overloaded his schedule since arriving on campus, running through a checklist of critical must-dos.
“The priorities are, when you take over a program, obviously hire coaches. And you need to get out and recruit and familiarize yourself with the local high schools and their coaches,” Gilford said.
“Meeting with the team and talking with them so that they have confidence in me as a coach and let them know that the program I’m going to run is going to benefit not only themselves as individuals but also the football program,” Gilford continued. “Those are probably the three main things I’ve dealt with so far.”
Even before he stepped foot on campus, the first hurdle, which Gilford knew from the get-go he’d have to maneuver, is the fact that the coaching position is part-time and pays a very minimum salary. Gilford commutes from Concord every day, arriving to Gavilan by 1 or 2 o’clock each afternoon.
Though it is not an ideal situation, Gilford is steadfast in saying that will not be a hindrance as he reforms the program’s traditions and work ethic.
“Although the position is part-time, myself as a coach, I’m full-time. The amount of time that I put in is what I feel is required to get the job done the right way,” Gilford said. “I’ll put in full-time hours, probably more so than anyone else.”
A teacher in Pittsburg, Gilford said he plans to find a job in the area after this academic year.
“That’s always been the plan,” Gilford said. “I knew that it was part-time and I’m hoping that’s a temporary thing.”
Gilford has already visited the local high schools, saying that those athletes are the backbone of the program.
“If you don’t have the support of the local high schools, you don’t have much,” Gilford said. “I will always make that a strong point, build from the surrounding area then branch out – protect your own backyard, so to speak.”
He set in motion his search for the ideal coaching staff, which he wants in place two weeks before spring practice.
But it won’t be as simple as one, two, three – various areas of concern await Gilford’s careful and diligent attention. Because the new head coach is well aware of what must take place, though, that bodes well and creates an assurance that perhaps the tides will turn.
Gilford said he met with the team immediately upon his hire, reiterating his philosophies over and over again to succinctly and authoritatively let the players know Gavilan is the institution for them.
“We are going to put a good product out there. We are going to be fun to watch,” Gilford said. “Already with me, there is going to be a change. We are going to be a physical football team.”
Tackling the lingering issue of retaining players after their freshmen year is an aspect of the junior college game Gilford has managed before and will again have to sort through at Gavilan. A mere 17 of the Rams’ 66-player roster in 2010 were listed as sophomores – a concern when attempting to maintain consistency year in and year out.
“To me it’s not an issue. And the reason why I say that is because I’ve never had a problem with retention in my 14 years of coaching,” Gilford said in a better-believe-it tone. “One of the issues when I came to Los Medanos College was retention for the defensive staff that was there before me. Each year there was a high turnover, kids were coming in and then leaving. In my two years there, in my second year, we didn’t lose anybody that we recruited on the defensive side of the ball. We had 20 or 25 freshmen that returned the next year.”
Gilford spent the previous two seasons as the defensive coordinator at Los Medanos College in Pittsburg, where he revamped the defensive unit. According to the school’s website, the Los Medanos defense reduced the oppositions’ yards per game by 55.8 yards, reduced the opponents’ points per game by 15.8 points, and doubled its sack total to 24 in Gilford’s first year.
In the competitive beast that is sports, seeing is believing, and wins are the gold standard. Gilford is confident the Rams will get there.
“It’s a matter of time. My definition of first-year success might be different than the general population,” he said. “What I look for is incremental improvement. The little things take care of the big things. I’m setting an infrastructure and a program that is built for the long term.”
