PORT ANGELES — Bret Curtis was hired as the new head football coach at Port Angeles High School, and then he got to work.
Two days after his hiring was approved by the Port Angeles School Board, Curtis spent his Saturday watching film of the Roughriders.
Saturdays are already football days for the new coach.
Curtis moved to Port Angeles in 1992. Since then, he coached the Stevens Middle School football team from 2000-08 and served as an assistant at Port Angeles under former coaches Mark Greenleaf, Keith Moorman and Tom Wahl.
Only recently did he have time to become the head coach.
“I wanted to stay home and be a family man,” Curtis told the Peninsula Daily News in a phone interview.
Curtis and his wife, Diane, have raised three daughters. Those daughters are now ages 20-25, giving Bret Curtis more time for things such as high school football.
Now that he has the time, he isn’t wasting it.
That’s partly out of necessity. Although preseason practices don’t start until Aug. 19, summer football begins early next month.
There’s a lot to do before then.
Curtis hopes to have a coaching staff in place within the next two weeks.
He already has one assistant picked out: George Kheriaty, who will serve as the associate head coach. Curtis said he and Kheriaty go way back.
While recognizing that assistant football coaches have been hard to come by in Port Angeles recently, Curtis is optimistic that he’ll be able to put together a productive staff.
“Hopefully we’ll be able to land some good-character guys that are good role models for the boys,” Curtis said.
A history teacher at the high school, Curtis has already started to work the hallways.
“Numbers are always going to be an issue with a coach,” Curtis said.
“I’m starting to do some recruiting, touching base with a lot of boys, see what their plans are.”
Curtis has followed Port Angeles football over the years, so he already has some idea of what the personnel will be next season.
“I’ve seen them, watched them play,” he said.
“We’ve got some athletes coming back, got some linemen boys as well.
“A pretty good core.”
Among the top orders of business this summer will be familiarizing the players with the new staff and the new schemes.
Curtis doesn’t want to give away too much, but offensively his plan is for the Riders to operate in a pro set after employing the Wing-T the past three seasons under Wahl.
“We’re going to try to be balanced,” Curtis said.
“I know every coach says that: we want to pass and run.
“What we want to do more than anything is limit mistakes, handle the ball well and execute. That’ really what we want to do.
“We’re going to stick with the fundamentals. I know it’s cliche, but we want to block and tackle.”
Curtis, a graduate of Orcas Island High School, played two years of football at Yakima Valley Community College and two more years at Western Washington University.
He was a linebacker in high school, but moved to the defensive line and even played a little bit of offensive line in college.
That experience on both sides of the ball could be handy for a coach.
“I think so, yeah,” Curtis said. “I don’t want to say it’s a different mindset, necessarily. It’s more of a reaction thing on defense, instead specific assignments.”
Curtis, however, hopes the Riders’ offensive mentality can become as aggressive as it is on defense.
He also wants everyone associated with the program to feel valued.
“I think we can put together a good program. We want to do right by boys and parents and be as fair as humanly possible, and want them have a good experience,” Curtis said.
“We want to make sure everybody feels valued, from the players down to managers.
“Everybody plays a role.”
Curtis also plans to work with the Future Riders, Port Angeles’ youth football program, including holding a camp with them this summer.
“The [Future] Riders program has been a real solid program,” Curtis said.
“We want to work with those coaches as much as possible. It would be nice if we ran somewhat of the same scheme, but I’m not going to require it of anybody.
“The ultimate goal for the younger boys in third, fourth and fifth grade, is that they have the ultimate goal of being a Roughrider at Port Angeles High School, and for that to be the pinnacle of their career.”
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Sports Editor Lee Horton can be reached at 360-417-3525 or at lhorton@peninsuladailynews.com.
