NEW MAR VISTA HIGH COACH HAS SEEN FOOTBALL FROM ALL ANGLES

When Syd Reed applied for the head football coaching position at Mar Vista last year, he was disappointed when he was bypassed.

Undaunted, he quickly reapplied when the position opened again this summer.

“I thought they might remember me,” said Reed, a first-year head coach hired just 48 days ago. “When I didn’t get the job last year, I went back to Clairemont High to get a little more knowledge.”

It clearly worked out well as the Lincoln High graduate was hired ahead of three others after spending four years at Clairemont, the last three as the defensive coordinator. Before that he handled the running backs and linebackers.

He brings something most head coaches would never have on their resume — he was a football official.

Reed worked varsity games in the City Conference and North Conference, rotating between head linesman, back judge and line judge.

He also coached the San Diego Aztecs and a team from the Grossmont High area in the San Diego Youth Football Association, where he was the offensive coordinator.

That came after he played five years of semi-pro ball with the San Diego Thunder.

All because he wanted to see football from a variety of perspectives before he embarked on his lifelong quest to be a head coach.

“It was real fun to play in games versus guys who were former Division I college players and NFL guys who had played in the Super Bowl,” he said. “I never thought I could play in the NFL myself, but I held my own. At 5-10, 240 pounds, it was just too big of a jump to consider the NFL.

“Officiating allowed me meet some great coaches and realize I needed more patience to coach in high school.

“It’s very interesting how as the game goes on, as the coaches get more frustrated, they speak to the officiating differently. The dynamic sometimes changes dramatically from the beginning to the end of the game.”

Reed, 39, said that all along, though, he was storing the kind of information he thought he would need to be a successful high school coach. He already had one major ingredient—enthusiasm.

When he was named the head coach, he quickly tapped David Moore, a fellow youth football partner, as his offensive coordinator and kept some things in the family by hiring his brother, Donald Reed, for another position.

His first day on the job, July 5, was interesting.

“When I got the team together, I told them I was their new coach,” he said. “Their response was ‘oh, another one.’”

He understood the carousel of coaches after Tyler Arciaga left three years ago for Bonita Vista meant none of the players had seen the same coach two straight years.

He’s very pleased with the turnout that will allow varsity and junior varsity programs with 32 of the players, including nine seniors, on the varsity.

He couldn’t have been happier than when he discovered three of his key juniors not only played football but rugby, which he notes shows the kind of toughness he expects of his players.

“Andrew Urquizi (5-10, 260) will be our short-yardage back as well as playing on the line, and Anthony Baxter (5-9, 240) and Nathan Pulido (5-8, 230) are very agile two-way linemen,” said Reed of the rugby vets. “I want guys who if we need a yard won’t hesitate to ask for the ball, so that’s why I listed nine guys who have the potential to play running back.”

Even his quarterback, veteran Aleks Wojeik, another 11th-grader, is good-sized at 5-10 and 200-pounds.

“Aleks will run the ball a lot, but he can also throw it 50 yards, which is great news because we have a pair of senior wide receivers, Jordan Mahan (6-1, 200) and Dante Pacheco (6-2, 180), who will make big targets and were first team Allleague last year.

“We’ll run multiple sets with the spread offense and double wing. On defense we’ll either go 3-3-5 or 4-2-5 depending if we can grow our numbers on the line.”

Reed says that if need be, he’ll contact his cousins for tips, especially offensively. Those cousins? Jason Van (who coaches at Helix), Demetrius Sumler (former Cathedral Catholic recordholding RB who coaches at San Diego State) and Teddy Lawrence (former Morse and UCLA standout).

With the late start and the team learning new offenses and defenses, Reed says he’s unsure how they’ll fare, but it really doesn’t matter.

Really.

“Our No. 1 goal is to get the seniors to play in college,” said Reed who played at San Diego Mesa College. “With hard work and effort, they can play at the next level.

“I believe the South Bay is disrespected elsewhere in the county, but we’ll show them our brand of football. We have tremendous community support, and I’m excited.”

Syd Reed