Compassionate. Merciful. Gentle. It is easy to link these words when describing a friend, but when it comes to a football coach, these words rarely come to mind.
“Football coaches seems to always be strict and obessed with conditioning,” Shane Darakjian, ’09, said. “I have a difficult time saying anything positive about them.”
Vince Lombardi, former NFL coach, once said, “Coaches who can outline plays on a black board are a dime a dozen. The ones who win get inside their player and motivate.” Driving the football team towards perfection Jon Hall, alumnus and varsity head coach, strives to outsmart his opponents with clever plays and unexpected strategies.
“I love the schemes and constant ‘chess match’ you play with the opposing coach,” Hall said. “The payoff is watching it all unfold on Fridays.”
Hall is entering his 11th year as a campus coach and seventh as head coach.
“I’ve coach for a total of 12 years as a part of 14 seasons in both Germany and in the valley,” Hall said. “My favorite memory from all the seasons would be our last second field goal to win the school’s first ever playoff game, 23-20, over Parlier when we were the No. 1 seed and undefeated in 2002.”
After successful years of consistent playoff appearances, a recent problem for the team is the small amount of players.
“The biggest challenge has to be the numbers,” Hall said. “We only have three seniors playing, but the lower classes have fairly large numbers. Next year we have the potential to have over 30 players on our varsity.”
Although some players fear injury on the field, Hall believes football brings less injuries than other sports.
“For those who are really afraid of getting hurt do not realize that there is no greater risk of injury in Clark Intermediate) with a game against Bakersfield Christian. The Eagles first season game will be held at Clark Intermediate Stadium, 902 Fifth street, in Clovis on Aug. 31. The cost is $6 for adults, $4 for seniors, and $2 for students. Fresno Christian Junior High and High School students are admitted free with a ticket they may obtain in the offices on Friday.