Q&A: New JSerra football coach Victor Santa Cruz embraces high expectations of Trinity League

JSerra may need give you the soccer teaching rent of the 12 months when Victor Santa Cruz was recruited to change into the Lions’ new head coach.

The 50-year-old had been defensive coordinator at Hawaii after being Azusa Pacific’s all-time winningest coach with an 84-69 report for 14 seasons. He spent 5 years teaching highschool soccer within the Nineteen Nineties at Oceanside, then left for the faculty ranks. Now he’s able to tackle the excessive expectations of teaching within the Trinity League.

He was interviewed throughout “Friday Night time Stay” about his imaginative and prescient for JSerra.

Why return to teaching highschool soccer?

“I’m excited to be again in highschool. I began my profession working for Herb Meyer at Oceanside for 5 years. To me, I all the time thought I’d keep there however then the chance opened up at Azusa Pacific. I’m all concerning the probability to compete, the possibility to educate and make an impression and assist individuals develop within the recreation, not simply in soccer however socially, academically and spiritually. “

What is going to your offense be about?

“I’ve acquired an actual historical past of being an attacking defensive sort of man, however in the event you take a look at my groups at Azusa, we broke all of the offensive information. We’re going to ensure we make the most of our athletes and their strengths. I’d be a idiot to shove one playbook down the throats of a roster that doesn’t match talent-wise. We’re nonetheless studying.”

The Trinity League is sort of a faculty league. What’s your imaginative and prescient for JSerra?

“That actually was a deal for me as a result of I’m aggressive. I wish to play soccer that issues. What I actually beloved concerning the Trinity League is each week that you must give your best possible. What a problem. And the imaginative and prescient for us is constructing champions whereas pursuing championships. Who my gamers change into by way of this system issues before everything. However in the event you construct the champion man, how they assume, how they function, then the fruit of successful comes out. That orange tree within the yard isn’t going, ‘Please produce oranges.’ It’s a tree. It’s acquired deep roots. The fruit is a byproduct of who it’s. We construct the championship individuals and you then watch the successful come.”

Teachers is vital to you.

“It will be important. I’m the primary to graduate faculty in my complete bloodline and I get to see what the impression is being the primary technology faculty scholar, what it does by yourself household. It’s worthwhile to take possession of studying.”

A lot has modified for the reason that final time you coached in highschool. Dad and mom are totally different, expectations are totally different, transfers are totally different. How do you modify?

“Faculty ready me nicely for this chance. You may have excessive expectations. You may have a number of goals and I get gamers and oldsters have a dream that they wish to go to varsity. There’s extraordinarily excessive expectations and excessive expectations are excellent since you wish to be round excessive requirements. Misplaced expectations or expectations which might be unrealistic or judging on the incorrect time are whenever you get pissed off as a result of they’re a detriment to the event of a participant and a detriment to an anxious surroundings for the mum or dad. I’m making an attempt to deliver some readability to what’s occurring so we are able to all navigate this new world of recruiting, of highschool sports activities and faculty sports activities. The faculty soccer world flipped radically within the final three years, and we’re nonetheless seeing the apples fall off in a random method. As we kind this out, popping out of the faculty ranks, my hope is let me assist get some readability and a few perspective of all that’s taking place so we are able to transfer ahead and never let the feelings hijack an exquisite course of.”