Infusion of New Coaches Brings Change

Pat Blackburn of Alemany High has become an elder statesman of sorts among Del Rey League football coaches. Not bad for a 33-year-old coaching in a high-profile league that includes traditional powers Loyola and Crespi, both of which have been ranked No. 1 in the nation by USA Today during the past two seasons.

Blackburn might be considered a suitable role model for those greenhorn coaches who are new to the league this season. After all, he has already coached four league games.

Only Steve Grady, who is entering his 14th season at Loyola, has more seniority than Blackburn, the coach at Montclair Prep for two seasons before coming to Alemany in 1988.

Crespi, St. Francis and St. John Bosco will be coached by Tim Lins, Bill Garrison and Gabe Soumakian, respectively, all first-time head coaches.

Lins, 28, a Crespi assistant for five seasons, was hired earlier this year when Bill Redell resigned to devote more time to his job as an insurance salesman. Garrison, 32, a former Cal Poly San Luis Obispo assistant, takes over for Terry Terrazone, now an assistant at Glendale College. Soumakian, 33, left Loyola where he was an assistant for 14 years to fill the St. John Bosco position vacated by Bill Friedrich, now an assistant at Millikan.

The new coaches have brought a fresh approach to their jobs. Lins, for instance, has taken a harder line on his players’ appearance than Redell. No longer will Celts be allowed to sport Mohawk haircuts and wear bandannas or rags scrawled with slogans.

Now, players have neatly cropped hair or none at all.

Redell, who said his team put too much emphasis on its appearance last year, sees that change as welcome.

“I probably ran the program a little bit too much like I was in college or in the pros,” he said. “They got more concerned about how they looked than how they played last year. We were a well-disciplined team but I think Tim might discipline them a little better.”

Dan Hunt, a senior lineman at Crespi, agrees. “Before the games you’d get guys sitting in front of the mirrors to see how they looked instead of thinking about the game,” he said. “That’s pretty much stopped. I like (Lins’ discipline) better. I think it gets the team more prepared for the game.”

Said Lins of his disciplinary bent: “I think that discipline begins with the very first step you take on the field in terms of practice. We try to win our games on the practice field. I think (eccentric haircuts, bandannas, etc.) deter (you) from what you’re trying to do.”

It will take more than an iron fist to replace the services of graduated tailback Russell White, the state’s all-time leading rusher (5,998 yards). Just two years after the Celts finished the 1986 season 13-1 and won the Southern Section Big Five Conference championship, they finished 6-6.

Loyola’s Grady says that Lins might be in a better position to put the team back in the black because, unlike Redell, he is a teacher at Crespi.

“I think the head coach has got to be on campus with as many assistants as he can have,” said Grady, also an on-campus coach. “So the kids see that we’re not all fire and brimstone. Then, they can be relaxed and work for you.”

In the past, few sophomores were willing to work for St. John Bosco coaches. And for good reason--their primary role during the week was to play “scout offense” for the varsity defense. The impact on the program was profound. The Braves, who lost to Crespi in the 1986 Big Five Conference championship game, have won just one league game the past two seasons.

“Last year, it was a joke,” Athletic Director Ed Riley said. “Tenth-graders were running the opponent’s plays and they were getting the crap kicked out of them. Then they get to game night and they don’t know their own plays.”

This year, after a pep talk by Soumakian, the sophomore roster has ballooned from 24 to 51 players.

Of the three new coaches, Garrison might be faced with the most difficult task.

Soumakian and Lins are familiar with league talent; Garrison is making a step down from coaching college players. To compensate, he already has broken down miles of game film.

Still, he says that his position could be advantageous. “I’m the new kid on the block and they’ve never seen the offenses my staff and I put together,” said Garrison, whose team will open against Burroughs. “I’m sure the Burroughs’ game tape is going to be a hot item. People want to see us and what we do.”

Grady says that continuity and harmony among a team’s coach and his assistants is crucial to success, although reaching that point can be tedious and time consuming.

“Our program has been so successful because we’ve had great coaching on all levels,” said Grady, whose team finished 12-1 last season. “I’ve never had to have a complete turnover--three guys leave and three new guys come in.”

Three games into Alemany’s 1988 season, some Alemany backers were dusting off a space in the school’s trophy case for the league championship plaque. After winning its first three, however, the team dropped six of seven. The trying experience provided Blackburn with valuable advice to impart to the league’s new coaches.

“After the first three games, I think everybody thought we were going to set the world on fire,” Blackburn said, adding that he too was a bit taken with his team’s early success. “When you’re playing in the Del Rey League, you don’t just walk into a job and take the league title. You’ve got to be realistic and work toward that.”

DEL REY LEAGUE

FINAL 1988 STANDINGS PROJECTED FINISH Loyola 12-1, 4-0 Loyola Crespi 6-6, 3-1 Alemany St. Francis 4-7, 2-2 Crespi Alemany 4-6, 1-3 St. Francis St. John Bosco 1-9, 0-4 St. John Bosco

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Player School Pos. Ht Wt Class Terry Barnum Alemany RB 5-10 165 So. Chris Campuzano Alemany OL 6-2 280 Sr. Kevin Dell’Amico Loyola LB 5-11 190 Sr. Christian Fauria Crespi TE 6-4 200 Sr. Dan Hunt Crespi OL 6-2 230 Sr. Kevin Hurley St. Francis DB 5-10 175 Sr. Bill Markowitz Alemany DB 5-10 175 Sr. Martin Meza St. John Bosco DB 5-10 180 Sr. Pete Morales St. Francis RB 6-0 210 Sr. Joey Rosselli Alemany QB 6-2 175 Sr. Justin Yarro Loyola OL 6-4 245 Sr.