He’s a Jim Dandy : Football: Coordinator Bonds has St. Francis High on the offensive with five consecutive victories.

Jim Bonds again is slinging spirals during high school football practice--and putting zip on the ball. Who would have figured?

Perhaps only Bonds.

“If you look back in my yearbook, I said I wanted to teach history and coach football,” said Bonds, an assistant coach and history teacher at St. Francis High. “I decided a long time ago that once my football playing days were over that teaching and coaching was what I wanted to do.”

So far, so good. St. Francis is 5-0 entering tonight’s Mission League opener at Bishop Montgomery.

Bonds, Coach Bill Redell’s offensive coordinator since 1993, is pitching in on an impressive turnaround. The Golden Knights, 3-7 two years ago, are in position to post their first winning season since 1990.

Coaching indeed is rewarding for Bonds, 26, whose powerful right arm propelled him from stardom at Hart High to starting quarterback at UCLA. Especially since he never envisioned his playing days coming to an end so abruptly.

Bonds was booed and benched five years ago in only his second start as a Bruin. A dismal two of eight passing for 15 yards, he was removed at halftime with UCLA trailing Stanford, 14-7, at the Rose Bowl. Freshman Tommy Maddox replaced Bonds and led the Bruins to a 32-31 victory.

A week earlier, Bonds was eight of 14 with no touchdowns and two interceptions in a 34-14 loss to Oklahoma.

For Bonds, then a junior, the demotion signaled a turning point: Maddox maintained the starting role over the next two seasons while Bonds played sparingly as a backup.

Falling on his face mask before 80,000 spectators was painful. But Bonds handled matters gracefully and blamed no one but himself.

“I was disappointed in myself because I had the opportunity and I didn’t perform up to my standards,” he said. “I thought: ‘The coaches do what’s in the best interest of the team, and whatever they do, I’m going to live with it.’ ”

Life has gone on and gone well. Bonds graduated with a degree in history and married his high school sweetheart. The couple expect their second child in January.

“Doing so well in high school and having all these great expectations. . . . It was hard for him, but he took it well,” Tricia Bonds said.

The peaks and valleys of his playing days have proven valuable for Bonds in his coaching career.

Since joining the staff in Redell’s first season at St. Francis, Bonds has called virtually all the plays. Someday, he would like to call the shots as a head coach.

“Jim Bonds is ready to be a head coach right now,” said Redell, who coached Bonds in the 1987 Shrine Game while head coach at Crespi. “He has always struck me as mature beyond his years. When I coached him in the Shrine Game, I was just very impressed with his leadership skills and his demeanor . . . the way he commanded such respect from teammates.”

As a senior at Hart, Bonds was rated among the top 200 high school football players in the nation and recruited by several major colleges. In 1986, Bonds passed for 3,197 yards and 39 touchdowns to lead the Indians to a 13-1 record and a Southern Section championship.

His ability to think on his shuffling feet also impressed recruiters. Bonds called signals out of a no-huddle offense during much of his senior year, demonstrating remarkable leadership ability for a young player.

“He really could get things done,” said former Hart Coach Rick Scott, now coach at Buena. “That was the difference between Jim and other quarterbacks. He has a bright football mind and he’s cool under pressure.

“Jim also had a good set of values, as far as being a good person, a good teammate. His friends respected him, his teammates respected him.”

Strong family ties helped smooth Bonds’ transition from player to coach. His decision to remain at UCLA after being demoted was supported by his brother Tom, 28, a former quarterback at Hart and Cal Lutheran.

“My dad and my brother have guided me the most throughout high school and UCLA,” Bonds said. “That’s just the way a Bonds was going to handle it.

“I still struggle with it sometimes. I’d be lying if I told you I don’t. One of the major problems I have is when I see a quarterback on TV on Sundays--maybe not a starting quarterback, but a guy who’s backing up somebody and making a million dollars a year, and I know I’m a better quarterback.”

Bonds spends more time focusing on the quarterbacks he works with during the week. And his ability to relate to them might be his best coaching attribute.

Redell and Bonds shuffled two quarterbacks for much of last season. John Carnevali, a junior and returning letterman, was the projected starter. But when senior Brian Rucker transferred from Loyola, an old-fashioned quarterback controversy ensued.

St. Francis, fifth in the league last season, had six games in which both quarterbacks played. Neither enjoyed heading from the huddle to the bench, particularly Carnevali, who has passed for 737 yards and eight touchdowns as the starter this season.

“I didn’t want the coaches to think I was frustrated, so I tried to keep it low-key,” Carnevali said. “But Coach Bonds knew what I was thinking and he would say things to me. He told me about throwing an interception in the Rose Bowl and he was able to say, ‘I’ve been there.’

“He really was one of the reasons I kept my spirits up. If it wasn’t for him, I might not have kept on playing.”

Bonds has been first string. He’s been fourth string. He knows what it’s like to wait in line.

“I always tell them: ‘I’m coaching you to be first string because you’re always one play away from being in there,’ ” Bonds said. “ ‘You have to look at it that way. And don’t ever believe you’re not worthy of being No. 1.’ ”