Nick Walker is set to begin his first season as the head football coach at Valley Christian. We had the opportunity to sit down with him recently for a Q&A
- Q: Where did you play your High School football? What position did you play?
A: JOHN MUIR (95-96 & 96-97) ALHAMBRA HIGH SCHOOL (97-98 & 98-99) I WAS AN ALL ALMONT LEAGUE LINEBACKER 97 & 98 AND 99 JIM BROWNFIELD NFF SCHOLARSHIP RECIEPTANT AND NFF ALL STAR GAME LINEBACKER. - Q: Did you play football after high school? If so, where and what position?
A: I PLAYED AT 99-02 CARTHAGE COLLEGE (KENOSHA, WI) AND I PLAYED OUTSIDE LINEBACKER. - Q: When did you decide you wanted to be a high school football coach?
A: AGE 16 - Q: What was your first coaching job?
A: JOHN MUIR HS 2004 (MIKE RIAZZI HEAD COACH) JV LINEBACKER COACH. - Q: What were the main factors in your decision to take the Valley Christian head coaching job?
A: TRADITION AND RECENT SUCCESS. - Q: What coach has had the biggest influence on you and why?
A: GROWING UP IT WAS JIM BROWNFIELD, GIL RUEDAFLORES, AND TONY CRUTCHFIELD. CURRENTLY HAVE TWO
GO TO GUYS FOR ADVICE – GEORGE MAIALE AND JOHNNY SANDERS. - Q: What side of the ball do you consider your area of expertise? Offense or defense?
A: DEFENSE (MOST RECENTLY CANYON HIGH SCHOOL (SANTA CLARITA) DEFENSIVE COORDINATOR. - Q: What type of offense will you be running at Valley Christian?
A: POWER SPREAD. - Q: Last year Valley Christian finished 7-3 (8-2 on the field) overall and lost in the first round of the Division 8
playoffs to Ramona. How’s the team look this year? Will your approach change?
A: WE LOOK GOOD. WE HAVE ABOUT 13 STARTERS FROM THAT TEAM COMING BACK (MICAH MAURER, JOJO
APISALA, CASEY BOUMA, RYAN BOUMA, NICK BOZANIC, MAJOR BROWN, GRANT HEFNER, TYLER HAYES,
JOHNNY MILLER, NOAH SALCEDA, DYLAN SAWAI, KADEN STRUIKSMA, JACK VAN HOFWEGEN, NOAH KLIISTOFF).
MY APPROACH WILL FOR THIS SEASON AND ANY SEASON I GO INTO IS IN THIS ORDER WIN GAME 1, GET BETTER
EVERY WEEK, FIX THE LITTLE THINGS, DO WHAT YOU DO WELL, WIN LEAGUE, MAKE SOME NOISE. WE WILL BE
VERY DISCIPLINED, COMPETITVE, HARD HITTING, AND WIN WITH DEFENSE. WE WILL NOT BE OUT WORKED OR
RUN OUT OF GAS. - Q: Who would you consider your biggest rivalry at Valley Christian?
A: ONTARIO CHRISTIAN FOR THE SCHOOL BUT FOR ME IT WILL BE HERITAGE CHRISTIAN, I WAS HIRED AS THE DEFENSIVE COORDINATOR THIS SEASON BUT TOOK THE VALLEY JOB.
I appreciate all these meet and greet interviews with new or returning coaches , great background info #upnext
It would be cool to get one of these Q&As with the SG head football coach. It’s a polar opposite situation compared to this Q&A, brings perspective. Valley Christian has seen recent success, they have a new coach; San Gabriel has has the same coach (getting harder and harder to find) but hasn’t found much success, they haven’t made much noise. Would love to hear from them Tim, thanks for reading. I understand if you don’t feel like doing so as it would cause a slippery slope with other readers and their teams of interest.