By Staff Writer, Narbeh D.

            Sports teams know how difficult it is to put losses behind them, whether they be in games or in personnel.  Teams will tell you that if you lose a game or a player, you can always turn things around.  Yet, one thing teams struggle to recuperate from is the loss of a coach.

            The football team has lately been under a lot of pressure with all the hubbub surrounding them.  They had to rejuvenate themselves after the heartbreaking loss to Glendale High School.  Next, the team had to try and overlook the fact that their coach had been relieved of his coaching duties.  The school and the team look to go in a new direction as they try to bring in some freshness to the team.

            With so much negative energy swirling around the football team, one may have wondered if they could stick together.

            “The team is filled with great talents and characters, which have been able to form a resilient group,” former coach Dennis Hughes said.  “It would be no surprise to see them refocus quickly and automatically look to improve themselves.”

            All teams will tell you that losing the head coach is the biggest hurdle a team may have to overcome.  Losing a coach means that a team has not only lost a leader, but they may also lose confidence and focus, which then translates into unfavorable results during the season.  This loss will challenge the team’s chemistry, as the team will try to recover and build a relationship with the new coach.        

            It has not been decided who will be named the new head coach of the football team.  The school is going through the regular procedure of notifying the district about the job opening as well as posting information on Edjoin.org.  Assistant Principals Hakop Eulmessekian and Bill Sterling will also be looking to post this information on the California Interscholastic Federation (C.I.F) website.

            “Our goal is to have a coach prior to the spring off-season,” Sterling said.  “[Once the new head coach has been selected], he can maintain or release the current staff, as is appropriate.”

            There has been some grumbling from players who fear that the team may be in jeopardy of not only losing focus, but losing its players as well.  

            Eric Sahakian (’09), the newest member of the football team, claims that there has been some turmoil among the players, and that there may be times where a certain boiling point is reached.

Despite the problems they now face, Sahakian is still optimistic about the future.  He believes that a handful of students will stand up and not only motivate the players but assume the role of leader.

“The players are willing [to play] and to stay on the football team,” Sterling said.  “All we need to do is wait for a coach to come along.”

Although the football team has gone through many ups and downs, the team will be showcasing two types of running games: the power running game and the faster running game.  With a combination of the two, the game’s tempo will be much easier to control.  The offensive and defensive lines look to be able to stand up to any challenge, as they are anchored by 6 foot 5 inch linemen Wyatt Bowers (’09).  The defense will also be looking to present a strong line-backing core to help the defense set the tone of the game.

“The toughest thing is not being able to go on that ride with the players next season,” Hughes said.