Kings Head Coach Bartlett waiting patiently to work with his team
WEEKLY BLOG: 7/11/20
A lot of things will be different for the Kofa Kings this season (assuming that we have one at some point in the school year).
The Yuma school will be in a true region once again instead of a faux two-team one with Cibola. KHS was moved down to the 5A Conference in the new realignment and will be in the West II Region.
Of course, there's the differences that COVID-19 has brought with the cancellation of spring ball, a disruption in summer workouts, and the mystery of when (or if) there will be a 2020 season.
But outside of that, the biggest change to the Crimson & White is the hiring of a new head coach. Dave Bartlett was hired in January to replace David Diehl. Bartlett wants to be in Yuma and the timing worked out right for him to be able to live in Southwestern Arizona and coach a team at the same time.
"This has long been my retirement destination," Bartlett said in an e-mail interview. "When I'd drive by Kofa, I would remember what great teams they used to have. I imagined an older me, retired from California someday, taking on a second career and rebuilding Kofa."
How close were the Kings to missing out on him?
Bartlett, a San Diego native, had just retired in California after coaching at the high school and college levels in both the Northern and Southern regions of the state. He was in New Jersey when the Kofa job posted and had accepted a job there, but hadn't signed the contract yet. He explained his interest to Kofa Athletic Director Dave King and things moved fast.
"I couldn't have been more impressed with how Dave and his interview team moved this along. I signed my contract on Thursday (in March) and we got locked out of school the next day."
That meant no spring ball and a chance to meet the returning players. Kofa had a varsity roster of 47 last season with just nine of them listed as seniors. He did get five practices in during June with the Phase I rules in effect. So, while there is still plenty of evaluating to be done, he likes the talent in the sophomore and junior classes.
OK, let's get the historical stats out of the way here. Kofa (0-10 in 2019) was outscored 516-54. Whenever the season begins, the Kings will be looking to snap a 21-game losing streak. In 60 years of football, KHS has made the playoffs just twice (the most recent being in 2008).
Bartlett has a three-step approach in his rebuilding plan. Administrative support, building a football culture, and being a high-expectation program.
He calls the staff at Kofa his biggest blessing upon arrival and he will be working in the special education department.
"The support network I have from principal Michael Sharp, Dave King, (assistant principal) Tim Keller, Teresa Laurean, and all the other sports program coaches has been beyond amazing," Bartlett said. "This is a really special place with great people."
When it comes to building a culture where one doesn't exist, it's doing it as a team not as individuals. Excuses won't be tolerated for missing workouts and practices. He has experience with a similar demographic in his time at San Ysidro HS (located on the border with Tijuana in California). He was with the Cougars for six years.
"I understand that this is not the primary sport for the demographics," Bartlett said. "I need to teach the kids football culture and teach them how to teach their parents about the team accountability aspect. They can't just vanish on me and show up here or there. I've found that once they understand the importance of the team factor, they're all in. I love getting them to games and seeing what Friday Night Lights are all about."
Finally, it's about forgetting the past and turning the page. It's extinguishing that and getting in the business of both mental and physical preparation each week. Everything from practice tempo to film study to stretching.
"We aren't 0-20 anymore," Bartlett said. "I did not lose 20 games, so these kids have a clean slate. They're 0-0. That means the expectations are high. The standards bar is now high because they've never lost a game with me. If I end up with 20 tenth and eleventh graders because bad habits of the past drive off some, I'm fine with that. But, we'll build it right."
Bartlett is a UC Davis guy. In terms of coaching trees, that means he's also an Oregon and Boise State guy as well. UC Davis alums Mike Belotti and Chris Petersen both had success at those schools, respectively. Dan Hawkins (UC Davis Class of '84) started the run of success for Boise State and returned as the head coach of his alma mater in 2017.
Those Oregon and Boise State teams were known for fast and wide open offenses. However, Bartlett said he's an option guy, if he has the talent for it. This will be a difficult situation for the first year with just those five practices so far and not really knowing the skill levels of all the kids.
"We'll have very limited time with them before our first game," Bartlett said. "With that in mind, we're going to start with being able to execute maybe six plays and build from there."
Regardless of the formation that gets decided, the Kings will probably not use any motion and keep it simple at the start. One of the running backs that returns for KHS is Diego Cancio. At wide receiver, Eben Rico was the leading pass catcher. Both had a couple big games last season and will be seniors.
Earlier this week, the Arizona Interscholastic Association announced its intention to have a fall season consisting of an 8-10 game football schedule beginning on Sept. 11. It is important to note that this timeline is based on the governor allowing schools to reopen on Aug. 17. If those plans change, then the timeline shifts.
Also this week, New Mexico announced it is moving its high school football season to the spring. Utah is planning to still have it in the fall. . . . for now. Bartlett believes that at some point this school year, there will be a football season and he knows his kids are looking forward to one.
"I have about 35 tenth and eleventh graders right now that I would love to have compete some this year," Bartlett said. "We're going to be a factor in '21. Count on that if these kids get some field experience this year."
Yuma has a population of about 100,000 with five public high schools (four that field football teams). KHS is named for the nearby Kofa Mountains. The YUHSD plans to return to educating its students on Aug. 6 with distance learning (online) only. If schools are permitted to reopen on Aug. 17, families can choose whether to have their children continue online or with a hybrid program that combines online learning with a shortened in-person school week (two full days a week, split in half by alphabet).
While Yuma can't be considered a small town per se (it ranks No. 11 among population cities in Arizona), it is just six percent of the size of Phoenix. There are communities in the Southwest corner of our state and many of them have been hit hard by this coronavirus over the past few months. Bringing football back would give a sense of normalcy that many have missed out on, and in the case of Kofa football, it could be the building of a new tradition.
"Any community similar to Yuma, be it El Centro or the mountain schools, all need that Friday night local competition," Bartlett said. "It's what adults talk about when they see each other the rest of their lives. I'd hate to have the seniors and community lose out on a year of that special memory."