{"id":95470,"date":"2026-03-30T21:28:00","date_gmt":"2026-03-31T04:28:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/midvalleysports.com\/?p=95470"},"modified":"2026-04-06T12:21:54","modified_gmt":"2026-04-06T19:21:54","slug":"qa-with-whittier-head-coach-lorenzo-hernandez","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/midvalleysports.com\/?p=95470","title":{"rendered":"Q&A with Whittier Head Coach Lorenzo Hernandez"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Lorenzo Hernandez has taken over as the new head coach at Whittier. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

By George Hernandez<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I sat down with long time Garfield head coach Lorenzo Hernandez who will be at the helm for Whittier this next season after taking over for Jimmy Welker. Hernandez has put together a solid staff and has high hopes for the Cardinals.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n

Q: What\u2019s up coach, how\u2019s it going?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A: Hola, sir. Things are going well\u2014slowly progressing to where we want to be as a staff and program as a whole. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Q: How was your year off from coaching?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A: I think the year off was a good thing. It gave me the opportunity to spend time with my son and help him settle into school at UCLA. I really appreciated the chance to watch him play for me at GHS and enjoy some much-needed quality time at home. It also allowed me to reflect on the positives and negatives of coaching, and to evaluate our program at Garfield from a different lens as an Athletic Director.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Q: After 24 successful years at Garfield that included a state playoff run, what made you want to take over a Whittier program that has one league victory in the last three seasons?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A: That\u2019s a great question. What drew me to this position was the opportunity with Whittier entering a new league, a solid core of returning players, and a strong principal and administrative team that promotes a great academic culture.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Q: Will you be on campus working or just coaching?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A: I hope to be on campus and will find out after July 1. That\u2019s a big reason I took the job. It\u2019s critical to be on site to address issues and help shape expectations daily.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Q: You don\u2019t have a Roosevelt here for a rivalry. Who are you looking to compete against the most in your new league? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A: There\u2019s nothing quite like the Roosevelt game, but our goal is to raise the standard and create our own rivalries. Based on proximity, Pioneer HS stands out as our rival, but we also want to challenge top programs in the area like La Serna and St. Paul. No disrespect to any other schools, but our focus is on competing at a high level and building strong rivalries with whoever is at the top.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Q: We know you have Marc Shettleroe on staff. How\u2019s the rest of your staff going to look?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A: We were very fortunate to bring Marc on board. He\u2019ll serve as our Offensive Coordinator and Assistant Head Coach. He\u2019ll be joined by some former Garfield coaches:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 Derek Wicks \u2013 WR \/ Passing Coordinator<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 James Wicks \u2013 Defensive Coordinator<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 Josh Chavez \u2013 Defensive Line (Garfield & Western HS)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 Carlos Hernandez \u2013 Special Teams<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We also have a strong group already at Whittier with great experience:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 Matt Lozano \u2013 QB Coach<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 Visko Ancich \u2013 LB Coach<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 Matt Martinez \u2013 OL Coach<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 Darrien Diaz \u2013 DB Coach<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 Juan C. Aguilar \u2013 DL<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 Cesar Franco \u2013 DL<\/p>\n\n\n\n

New additions include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 Jimmy Montoya \u2013 RB\/TE (formerly South El Monte)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 Henry Polanco \u2013 Strength & Conditioning<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Q: Any idea on what kind of offense you\u2019ll have on the field? We know everyone likes airing it out now but what are you looking to do?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A: We will mold our offense to our personnel but our foundation will be pounding the ball and setting up the pass.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Q: What will be a successful first season for you as head coach of Whittier high school?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A: A successful season would be reaching a CIF section championship. We have a strong community and a great pool of student-athletes. With a seasoned staff, it\u2019s an exciting opportunity to make a great run!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Q: You\u2019ve been out there for a month now. Are there any players we should look out for this season?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A: Here are some of our varsity players to watch:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nathan Cedano \u2013 Free Safety<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jayden Casas \u2013 CB\/WR<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Juan Castillo \u2013 Linebacker<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Xavier Villasenor \u2013 LB\/TE<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nathen Gallardo \u2013 OLB\/RB<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Joseph Medina \u2013 C\/G\/DE<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Charlie Ancich \u2013 A rising star with great skill and strong football DNA<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Q: Anything else you would like to say or let us know? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A: We want to build an inclusive environment and keep local kids at Whittier HS. The way will accomplish that is by creating a strong, positive football culture. We\u2019re committed to working hard, bringing stability, and making Whittier football a staple in the community.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Lorenzo Hernandez has taken over as the new head coach at Whittier. By George Hernandez I sat down with long time Garfield head coach Lorenzo Hernandez who will be at the helm for Whittier this next season after taking over for Jimmy Welker. Hernandez has put together a solid staff and has high hopes for the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[25],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-95470","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-soccer"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/midvalleysports.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/95470","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/midvalleysports.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/midvalleysports.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/midvalleysports.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/midvalleysports.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=95470"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/midvalleysports.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/95470\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":95474,"href":"https:\/\/midvalleysports.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/95470\/revisions\/95474"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/midvalleysports.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=95470"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/midvalleysports.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=95470"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/midvalleysports.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=95470"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}