PORT ANGELES — Brent Wasche and his family were happy to return to the Port Angeles community last fall and he will make his way back to the Civic Field sidelines this autumn with the same enthusiasm as the new Port Angeles High School head football coach.
Wasche’s hire was approved Thursday night by the Port Angeles School Board.
Currently a physical education teacher in the district and a Stevens Middle School wrestling coach, Wasche served as a Port Angeles’ head wrestling coach, a football assistant under former Riders head coach Bret Curtis and teacher from 2015-2017.
“My family and I just love this community,” Wasche said. “That’s what drew us back. I threw my name into the hat a couple of years ago when [the Port Angeles head coaching position] opened up but there were no district teaching positions available at the time. A couple of PE spots opened up this year, so I secured the district position and then the football job opened up too, so I decided to give it a go.”
Wasche takes over for Troy Mann, who coached the team to a 4-15 record in 2018 and 2019, and whose contract was not renewed after last season.
He played offensive line at NCAA Division II Texas A&M-Commerce, served as an infantryman in the Marine Corps from 1999-2003, including service during the second Iraq war, and has more than a decade of coaching and teaching experience in football, wrestling and even middle school volleyball this past fall at Stevens.
Wasche was head football coach of the Redmond (Ore.) Panthers in 2018, leading the team to a 2-7 overall record. Wasche said he was most proud of growing the program’s roster from 60 players to just under 100. Not surprisingly, the team’s fortunes turned for the better last season as Redmond, a school with similar enrollment to Port Angeles that also has seen its share of coaching turnover, went 6-4 last fall.
The Texas native also been part of some other program turnarounds back in the Lone Star state.
“When I left PA I went to Lampasas High School and was working for a coach named Troy Rogers. They just went through an amazing turnaround to go from 2-8 in 2017 to making the Texas state semifinals. I watched him turn around the team and was able to see him get that much out of the kids in a short time was a cool deal.”
Wasche already has started the process of reaching out to all levels of football in Port Angeles from youth leagues through the high school.
“Absolutely, bringing some unity to all the programs is a big part of the puzzle,” Wasche said. “I’ve already spoken with some of the upper level guys with the Future Riders and talked to the principal at Stevens. I had a pretty extensive plan prepared on how to build relationships and keep kids in the pipeline.
“Everybody has been extremely receptive. At the youth level there are some excellent people in charge and doing great things for football in this town.”
One of his first agenda items is getting a strength training plan in place.
“For us that’s an after-school lifting program this year and then developing a strength and conditioning program at the high school,” Wasche said.
He plans to hold an initial meeting with interested players at the school next week and plans a more formal kickoff meeting March 11 to discuss spring football, team camp, the summer 7 on 7 passing league and weight training.
Spring football will run June 8-11, 15-18 and 24-26. The latter dates will be spent at team camp at Kings’ High School in Shoreline.
“During spring football we will focus on the installation of our offense and defense and use that time for player assessment. We can figure out who we have at quarterback, who’s going to run the ball and who are big right tackle is going to be. Spring ball allows you to set the basis of a depth chart, so you don’t have to make those decisions in the fall.”
A four-day-a-week lifting and conditioning regiment will be implemented for the summer and the team will compete in a 7 on 7 passing league with area schools.
Wasche uses a player leadership council model to help keep his team accountable. Players at each position group elect a representative to the council, but those spots are not set in stone and can be changed during the season.
“I don’t have a cake or anything like that,” Wasche said when asked about team traditions, referencing a former Port Angeles coach’s fun custom of baking a cake to enjoy after wins or to present to opponents after losses.
Wasche said he’ll blend the talents of his players to his schemes on both sides of the ball, but he does have a vision for how the Riders will line up.
“Offensively, we’ll be based out of the single wing, probably the most flexible offense out there,” Wasche said. “It has plenty of room for spread formation concepts.”
And the defense will be based on the schemes his team expects to see, which could change with new head coaches this fall at Olympic League foes Kingston and North Mason.
“A traditional 4-3, but based on the teams we play in league, we need to have four down linemen,” Wasche said. “Most of them are running 21 personnel, two running backs and a tight end. If everybody starts going to the spread and we play Sequim five times a year, we will adapt.”
“We want to match scheme with personnel while still keeping an identity.”
Wasche will be the program’s ninth head coach since 2001.
He understands the reclamation project he has undertaken.
“Port Angeles is an amazing community and I feel extremely blessed and excited to be chosen to lead this program,” Wasche said. “There is an amazing amount of potential for success here, we have a great administrative team, supportive parents, an eager community and kids that are second to none. We definitely have a lot of work to do, but brick-by-brick we are going to build something great here.”
