Wong reflects on Vincent Memorial High’s football season.
EDITOR’S NOTE: This is the second of two articles featuring Southwest and Vincent Memorial head football coaches.
CALEXICO — When asked to coach his son’s Pop Warner football team, nothing but uncertainty and doubt came to David Wong’s mind.
With no prior experience, Wong ultimately took on the role and cultivated his coaching skills and style through self-teaching, and in just eight years went from coaching Pop Warner to leading the Vincent Memorial High football team into Saturday’s CIF State Div. 6-A championship game. Wong officially began his high school coaching career in 2010 as Calexico High’s junior varsity football coach, after volunteering at the Pop Warner level for a few years.
In 2011, Wong made the switch from Calexico High to Vincent Memorial after frustration with head coaches staying no more than one season with Calexico’s program at the time.
“Calexico was an opportunity, but there was no stability,” said Wong.
At Vincent, Wong had an immediate effect by stabilizing the high school’s JV football program, which was nonexistent at the time.
“You need a JV to be able to bring players up to varsity each year,” stated Wong on why he placed so much importance on the school’s JV team, which has grown from having only 14 players since Wong’s second year as assistant coach to 28 players this season.
After spending three years as an assistant coach, Wong was given the head coach title in April 2015 after the Vincent Memorial’s head varsity coach at the time suffered health issue in December 2015 and was unable to return.
Wong is currently in his third year at the helm of the Scots and has a staff that includes his son, Chris as the defensive coordinator, and two parent volunteers.
In his first year, Wong and the Scots finished with a 10-2 overall record, 3-1 Manzanita League record and made an appearance in the CIF-San Diego Section Div. V semifinals, losing to Crawford High, 23-19.
Last season, Vincent Memorial finished with an overall record of 5-5 and missed the CIF-SDS Div. V playoffs completely.
“We have chips on our shoulders,” Wong said. “There should have never been a reason why we missed the playoffs last year.”
Wong’s message seems to have resonated with this year’s team, as it finished the regular season with a 12-2 record, won the Manzanita League crown with a 3-0 record and won the CIF-SDS Div. V championship for the first time in the school’s history.
“With that message, and at this point where we’re at … a dream is coming true for a lot of kids,” explained Wong. “It’s for the kids. I don’t care much for the fame; it’ll come and go. I could be here another 10 years, and I might not win another game. I want the kids to dream and be able to accomplish that dream.”
The Scots will attempt to make one last dream come true at 6 p.m. on Saturday in the CIF State Div. 6-A final to be played at Calexico High’s Ward Field.