Gueringer Gets ‘Dream Job’ at Crespi

Calling it “a dream job,” former Crespi High assistant Ron Gueringer was hired as the school’s football coach on Wednesday.

“I’m glad to be back home,” said Gueringer, a Crespi assistant from 1978-81 and 1984-88.

He replaces Tim Lins, who resigned after 10 years as coach to take over the program at Moorpark High.

Gueringer, 41, gained his first head coaching experience at Corona Centennial High, where his teams finished 9-4 and 12-2 in 1995 and 1996. The 1996 team won the Mountain View League and reached the Southern Section Division IV final.

He left for Valley View High in Moreno Valley, where his 1997 team finished 7-5 and won the Sunbelt League. Last season, Valley View finished 6-5. All of his teams reached the section playoffs.

“My impressions are he’s a fired-up guy,” said Crespi Principal David Doyle. “I think he can put our program where we want to be.”

Gueringer graduated from Mt. Carmel High in 1975 and played football at UCLA. He said he always wanted to return to Crespi, where he assisted former Coach Bill Redell.

“I’d always open the paper every Saturday looking for Crespi scores,” he said.

Gueringer’s son, David, a junior linebacker at Valley View, will transfer to Crespi.

The new coach faces a difficult task next season. The only top player returning from a 6-6 team is defensive end Gregg Guenther.

Gueringer said he plans to use multiple formations and install an aggressive, attacking defense.

Gueringer grew up in South-Central Los Angeles, living in the Nickerson Gardens during the Watts riots in 1965.

“Sports was a way to motivate me and keep me out of trouble,” he said.

His parents sent their four children to Catholic schools, insisting that education was crucial to their development.

“His mother and I made sacrifices,” said Rodney Gueringer, Ron’s father. “We wanted the best for our kids.”

Rodney was at Crespi on Wednesday to see his son introduced as coach and looked on proudly as Ron vowed to continue Crespi’s football tradition.

Gueringer was an assistant in 1986, when Crespi became the only Valley school to win the Southern Section Division I title.

“Those were great experiences and I would like to be part of that again,” Gueringer said.