In the Game of the Father

A father telling his quarterback son what to do can be the most sleep-depriving, stomach-churning, ulcer-producing assignment in coaching.

Clipboards flying, doors slamming -- it’s enough to cause many to reject the idea all together.

Eddie Martinez, the football coach at Los Angeles Wilson, thought long and hard before he took on the task of coaching his son, Dylan, the starting quarterback this season as a junior.

“I didn’t want to strain the relationship with expectations,” Martinez said. “It’s a lot easier coaching somebody else’s son.”

Even Dylan had reservations.

“I heard stuff that coaches were on their sons the whole day how to be the best they can be, not just at practice, but at home,” he said. “I was afraid at first it was going to happen. But that was them. Me and my dad are different.”

It only seems appropriate that Martinez and his son are trying to repeat the success of 30 years ago, when perhaps the most successful father-son duo in City Section history, the Cuccias, set the standard at Wilson.

Coach Vic Cuccia and his quarterback son, Ron, helped the Mules win three consecutive City 3-A championships, go 38-0 and set numerous passing records. Eddie Martinez was a witness to the emotional tug-of-war that took place between father and son because he was a receiver on the team from 1975 to 1977.

“Both were real intense people,” Martinez said. “They knocked heads a lot of times. Mr. Cuccia would call a play and Ron would say, ‘That’s not going to work.’ They would go after each other. I still don’t know to this day who would have the last word, but whatever it was, it was still successful.”

Martinez is trying to establish a middle ground, understanding the responsibilities he has to the entire team.

So far, Dylan said his father is keeping the boundaries separate.

“Every day at practice, he gets all the yelling out,” he said. “Right now, there’s a big difference between the coach on the field and my dad at home. They haven’t really crossed paths yet.”

Wilson is 2-1 after losing for the first time last week to Los Angeles Jordan, 24-7. The Mules open Northern League play at L.A. Belmont on Friday night.

Dylan’s younger brother, Derek, a sophomore defensive back, is on the team. He’s serving as a friend and sounding board.

And there’s always Kathy Martinez, mother and wife and a former Wilson cheerleader who might be the most vocal member of the family.

“Sometimes I can hear her screaming when I’m at the line of scrimmage,” Dylan said.

Added Eddie: “I’m waiting for the first time she criticizes the coach.”

There are plenty of coach-son relationships being played out on the field this season. At Los Angeles University, Jason Robinson is a senior quarterback being guided by his father, E.C. At Crenshaw, fullback R.J. Garrett is the son of Coach Robert Garrett. Huntington Beach Edison Coach Dave White gets to work with his son, Hunter, a linebacker and receiver.

Martinez first coached his son briefly several years ago, when he served as an assistant on a youth football team.

“I thought I was pretty good at the time,” he said. “We kind of had an agreement: Do you want the father talk or the coach talk? The father talk is a pat on the back. The coach talk is a lot more critical of his performance. He would take the coach talk.”

Martinez said coaching a quarterback is different from coaching any other position.

“Coaching quarterbacks, especially young ones, is a process,” he said. “You have to put a lot of pressure on them, see how they respond and back off. I want to treat him the same way I treat the other kids, not harder and not easier.”

Dylan is still adjusting to getting yelled at by his father on the field.

“It’s a weird feeling,” he said. “I don’t know what to say to him because it might carry on to home.”

Teammates seem to be enjoying the entertainment when father chews out son at practice.

“They just laugh,” Dylan said. “They’re giggling behind his back.”

The best parts of the day come in the morning and at night, when father and sons drive to and from school together.

“For seven minutes, it’s just us three,” Eddie said. “It’s awesome.”

Added Dylan: “It is special. It’s me, him and my brother. We get to talk.”

It’s still too early to tell what kind of relationship will evolve between the father coach and his quarterback son, but Dylan promises, “I will never change a play on him.”

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Eric Sondheimer can be reached at eric.sondheimer@latimes.com.