Dragons putting in weight room work over summer to improve in fall
WEEKLY BLOG: 6/5/22
After finishing 3-7 in its inaugural varsity season, West Point has made some changes, but the school in Avondale has also displayed progress. Jerry Ball, who previously coached at Anthem Prep, Copper Canyon, and Arizona Christian University, is back for his second season of games, but some new coaches have joined the program.
Among the new members of the Dragons' staff are Brian Walker, Quintin Chaney, Tray Gilbreath, and Joseph Trinidad. Walker is a name familiar to Valley high school football fans as he was the head coach at Tempe High for 12 years. He will be the defensive coordinator. Chaney is the new receivers coach and he brings his experience as a player at Oklahoma. Gilbreath will coach the secondary and Trinidad will handle the defensive line.
"Coach Walker brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to our program," Ball said in an e-mail interview. "He will be joining the West Point family of teachers working in the Health and Wellness department. Coach Chaney is a tactician and excellent details coach. Coach Gilbreath is a great teacher of the game. Coach Trinidad has great vision and passion for the game."
West Point opened in 2019 with freshmen and sophomores. It played a Freshmen/Sophomore schedule that first year and went 6-3. The 2020 season was slated to be the first varsity campaign for Ball, but WPHS is part of the Tolleson Union High School District, which delayed (and then cancelled) the football year. No games were played at any level. The school picked it back up with a full season in 2021 (going 3-2 in the second half of the schedule) and recently had its first graduating class.
One of those that graduated was starting quarterback Nicholas Mejia. That means there's a summer competition to find his replacement. In the mix to replace him is Angelo Mejia (Nico's younger brother). Angelo, a senior, played safety last year and is making the conversion to QB. Another possibility is last year's freshman team starter, Richard Valdez. Ball said it has been an interesting battle during the spring.
"Although Angelo is a different player than his brother, he brings a great deal of similarities to the game," Ball said. "He has a great football IQ, was one of our top defensive players last year, and sees the game very well. He has a good arm and has picked up the system pretty quickly. Richard has a strong arm and desire to compete. He has great pocket presence and is very intelligent. He has the size and arm to make our offense go this fall."
Ball's philosophy on offense is an up-tempo spread. The purpose is to get his athletes in space so they can utilize their talents.
"We are based heavily in the Run & Shoot style with our run game centered on read option RPO principles," Ball said. "Our QB is central to running the scheme, but we can adapt to their strengths to fit what we need to do."
Defensively, Walker runs a unique defensive scheme that can be multiple in structure as needed. The philosophy is to fly around with physicality while forcing the run to the sidelines and keeping passes in front of the defenders offering low percentage throws.
"We will be a multiple-front defense with man and zone coverages on the back end," Walker said in an e-mail interview. "We will have the ability to attack from different angles. With a young and inexperienced roster, we will employ a 'stretch but don't tear' mentality."
The Dragons have a great group of athletes on the defensive side. Cornerback Chris Anderson returns for his senior year. Another senior on the defense will be Yeshua Rocha. Rocha played tight end last season, but will be working at outside linebacker.
"Chris is a great athlete and competes in track (triple jump & sprints)," Ball said. "He qualified for state this year in the triple with a jump just over 40 feet. He has great athletic explosiveness and is a natural corner. Yeshua has good speed, size, and physicality. He can play in the box and also fly out to support the pass."
While West Point may be a new school that doesn't have traditions yet, it is fully embracing the May and June programs that many bigger and older programs do. That includes showcases and 7-on-7 tournaments. West Point was one of 53 schools that made the trip to Mesa (just over 50 miles away from Avondale) for the Mega Showcase at Bell Bank Park. The Dragons also competed last weekend in a passing tournament at Cesar Chavez HS.
"We are heavily committed to these events for several reasons," Ball said. "They provide an opportunity for our players to compete. This competition gives us a gauge on where we are at in our development progression and it gives us time to break up the grind of the offseason training."
While it is easy to say the slow start for the Dragons last year may be due to the "lost season" of 2020, Ball doesn't dwell on the negative nor does he offer it as an excuse to not get better. West Point certainly showed improvement as the year went on. The Dragons also jumped in when Cactus was about to lose a Friday night due to its opponent being shut down to COVID-19. No challenge was too big to get learning along the way.
"2020 was a very difficult year for everyone," Ball said. "It certainly created some extreme challenges for us. But, we see those challenges as opportunities to grow and become better. Those athletes and students that have stayed have grown tremendously. So, we are excited to see this year's progression."
That progression will take place in a new region for WPHS. The Dragons will be in the Central Valley Region with fellow West Valley schools Copper Canyon, Kellis, and La Joya along with North Valley schools Paradise Valley and North Canyon. The AIA likes to create its regions to make for competitive Friday nights in league play and that's what you should have here. West Point's five region opponents went a combined 13-37 last season. Kellis (6-4) was the only one to win more than three games, but did not qualify for the 5A playoffs.
"We are extremely optimistic about this season," Ball said. "We always expect to do the very best we are capable. We expect to go into every contest ready to compete. We expect to rise to every challenge and face every opportunity to be at our best. We expect to be great on and off the field."
One interesting element West Point is incorporating into its offseason workouts is rugby training. While it will not only bring something different than the usual workouts, it will engage the players both mentally (learning something new) and physically.
"It provides a great tool to build tremendous conditioning and energy," Ball said. "It provides another method of engaging our players in healthy competition and strategies. Additionally, it provides another method of creating safety around the rugby style of tackling. Rugby methods have been used successfully for years to create a safer game for that sport. We intend to use it to help our players develop and become better and safer tacklers."
Reach Chris Eaton at gridironarizona@yahoo.com or DM at @gridironarizona with story ideas.
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