Diehl to take over Kofa football program

The Kofa football faithful can rest easy tonight as there is a new boss in charge.

David Diehl was announced as the new head coach at the Yuma Union High School District Governing Board meeting on Wednesday evening.

Diehl, who is a teacher at Kofa High School, has been on the staff for five seasons and now will take on more responsibility in his new role. He also is an assistant for the Kofa boys basketball programs and is in his second year as a teacher at the school. “We just feel that David came in and did a really nice job with the interview,” Kofa athletic director Tim Keller said. “He has some nice plans ready for Kofa High School. He’s been with the program. Our last two years we’ve had more wins than we’ve had in the last decade. The guys that we have on staff right now have been with that program.”

The last couple of seasons have shown some signs for optimism for the Kings, who are coming off of a 3-6 season and have won more games (eight) in the last two seasons than they had in the previous decade. The team will lose 21 players to graduation, but Diehl thinks that turnover is just something that teams have to deal with in high school.

“We’re off and running,” he said. “We’re seeing what we have for talent and leadership. It’s all a learning process for us right now with a new coach coming in. We’re going to see who responds and who competes and go from there.”

Diehl was the defensive coordinator last year and prior to that he worked as the head freshman coach. By coaching at different levels over the years he has been able to work with a pretty large part of the roster.

“I probably know 75 to 80 percent of the players out for spring ball by name,” Diehl said. “I kind of known their background and personalities. They kind of know my personality. That makes the transition easier.”