Jason Teater is an ASU Cronkite School of Journalism student assigned to cover Central High School for AZPreps365.com

 

Chandler Hovick was at the helm, winningest coach of the year in 2022, and looking to lead Central High School to its first playoff win in 50 years. 

But after an incident at the school, he left to lead his alma mater, Cesar Chavez High School. This left Central searching for a head coach. 

They would find former University of Southern California player and pinnacle high school coach, Chris Barrett, to lead the team. However, after a tough 4-6 season, Barrett too would leave Central searching for a new leader.

The job ultimately went to Alex Sanchez. 

“I just wanted to let them know I was loyal. I've been here since day one,” Sanchez said on the field. “Leading by example, let them know I'm not giving up on them, and I don't want them to give up on me.” 

The last couple of years at Central High School have seen copious amounts of turnover, chaos, and priorities in the wrong order, players said. However, with new leadership in charge, the Bobcats are now hoping those issues will be turned around.

The hire of Sanchez changed Central from a student-athlete's perspective.

The Bobcats have notoriously struggled to get players eligible for the game. Nearly one million high school student-athletes hoping to access college athletic opportunities don’t meet NCAA academic eligibility for college sports due to preventable errors, according to an Honest Game study. 

Sanchez quickly set himself up with other people to help the players grow, bringing in defensive coordinator Kyree Hart and quarterbacks coach Iaisah Harris to help create a culture at Central.

“When you are trying to build a house, you have to go brick by brick,” Harris said. “So if you lay the foundation right, the rest will be great. If you try to skip the steps, it won't work.”

That foundation started with getting their grades right before even stepping on the field, which is something Sanchez took pride in when he first arrived.

“My expectations were academics first, so being a student-athlete is what I pride myself on, and in order to be successful, we had to be successful in the classroom first,” Sanchez said. “We can be play makers, but we can't do that if we're not passing our grades.” 

Furthermore, Sanchez recruited help from the families to assist, but there was some initial pushback. 

“They just wanted to go and do whatever they wanted to do,” Hart said. “Same as they did the last couple of years, which was the reason why a lot of them were failing because they didn't care about anything.” 

The coaching staff banded together to implement respect and show accountability on and off the field. They also leaned on the team captains to help instill these values into a very young team

“It doesn't matter what it is, they're leading by that example,” Hart said. “Making sure that these younger folks are seeing them push these values, build together, and bond so that when they become seniors, they understand that.” 

These coaches also plan to change the trend of the Central football team, and their goals are to help the student-athletes grow year-round.

“I pride myself on making sure they're passing their classes. So I want to continue that even off-season, that's where the real work starts,” Sanchez said. 

From grades and academics to hitting the weight room with strength and conditioning programs, plus getting ready for 7-on-7, Sanchez prepares the team to grow on and off the field.

“We have a full off-season schedule already ready to go for these boys,” he said.

Sanchez hopes to bring Central back to competing in the region and win their first playoff game in over 50 years with grades continuing to be the catalyst for this program on the rise. 

“School is first, because not everybody (is going) make it to the NFL, not everybody (is going) make it to college,” Harris said. “So you have to understand that. So you have to always put grades first.”