Desert Valley Blitz

EP16-How Coach Dan Armstrong Built A High School Football Powerhouse Through Discipline And Simplicity

• CV Hustle Studios • Season 1 • Episode 16

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What if a dynasty could be built on just four core plays, ruthless clarity, and seniors who policed the locker room better than any staff meeting? Coach Dan Armstrong joins us to unpack how he turned programs with no field, no seniors, and no tradition into league champions and back‑to‑back CIF winners.

We dig into the moment a reluctant assistant became a lifer, the trial by fire against future Hall of Famers, and the culture reset that began by cutting nine no‑shows on day one. Armstrong lays out his blueprint: demand standards everyone can meet and everyone must meet, simplify the offense so the line has only four calls, and dress those same runs with formations, tags, motions, and play‑action. The result is speed and confidence on Friday, not paralysis by playbook. He explains why scheduling national powers sharpened La Quinta for league, helped players earn real recruiting film, and ultimately fueled a streak of 26 straight playoff appearances.

You’ll hear how traditions—scholarship walls, touch signs, earned jerseys—made players feel part of something bigger, and how “three perfect plays” at the end of practice set the bar for execution. We talk toughness in a safer era, quarterbacks who block on sweep, and the moment a starting guard won the quarterback job on a single throw. Armstrong’s advice to new coaches cuts through the noise: you’re a teacher first, one standard fits all, some decisions will cost sleep, and simplicity multiplies effort.

If you care about building winning culture, developing high school talent, and designing a system that survives turnover, this conversation is your coaching clinic. Hit follow, share this with a coach or player who needs it, and leave a review to help more listeners find the show.

#CoachDanArmstrong #laquintafootball #coachinglegend #desertvalleyblitz #coachescorner #lqfootball #coltonfootball 

SPEAKER_00:

Welcome back, everyone, to Desert Valley Blitz Coach's Corner. And we are super excited today, Coach, right, Josh?

SPEAKER_03:

Yep.

SPEAKER_00:

We got a special, special guest, the coach that has won multiple CIF championships. He's the godfather of Laquinta Blackhawk football. Absolutely. A living legend himself, Mr. Coach Dan Armstrong. Thanks for coming in, Coach. Welcome in, Coach. Thanks. Thanks for the good words.

SPEAKER_01:

I'm a little exaggeration or maybe, but uh I appreciate it. I appreciate it. Thanks.

SPEAKER_02:

I've known you for 30 years, but there's still a lot. Like, I don't know about your beginning days. Like, how how did you get involved with football? Like, go take it back to beginning.

SPEAKER_01:

All right. Well, first of all, my male modeling career wasn't kicking, kicked, you know, kicking off the way I had hoped it would. So uh no, actually, I uh I worked for my high school football coach. Uh he was also the uh uh stagehand local uh director, and so he hired me and a couple other guys to you know unload trucks and stuff like that for concerts and anything that was had to do with stage hands in some extra money, right? And then uh I just got done, you know, uh at in college and that and then uh um he walked up to me one day about three or four weeks into the season and says, I need you to do me a favor. And I said, Sure, you know, you tell your head whatever you want, yeah. Yeah, and uh he said, My JV defensive coordinator quit, and I need you to, you know, be the defensive coordinator on the JV. I said, Coach, I you know I I don't know what's going on. I never coached or whatever. He goes, It's no different than when you were here. Yeah, he goes, just go out and help uh the head coach's name was Cliff, just go out and help Cliff and do what you can do.

SPEAKER_02:

So you already played under his system, so you already kind of knew it all.

SPEAKER_01:

Terminology was pretty much the same and everything. So I went out there, just really wasn't that enthusiastic. I just was too scared to tell my coach that I wasn't gonna do it. And then I went out, just I mean, it was we won the league, we you know, we had some exciting games and stuff, and then it was all after that. I mean, I couldn't get enough of it.

SPEAKER_02:

That's exactly how I got started, coach. You asked me to start coaching that first year, and I just was not gonna tell you no. I was like, I'll be there. It was the best decision I ever made, though.

SPEAKER_01:

But you know, and then then the next year, the uh my coach had retired, and uh the the his defensive coordinator took over the head coach, and then he brought me the next year to be the defensive coordinator at the varsity level in the city. Second year in the community varsity. And then I was like, whoa, you know, but he was a defensive guy, so it wasn't like he you know just threw me out. He was was the most helping me out and everything. And we it was a great year. We went to uh CIF championship game that year in Qualcomm Stadium, and we went up against uh you know some dog kid named Marcus Allen. Oh and pretty good. Did that not go well? They beat us 35 to 7. He scored every touchdown in the game. And you I mean, if you they had the 30 for 30 on Marcus Allen, half his high school highlights were against that night, you know. And that was my genius scheme as the week before they had picked he picked apart Sweetwater High School throwing the ball. So I had the genius scheme of uh let's pressure him, you know, so he doesn't have time to throw. Little did I realize that forces him to run. And you manned up on the outside, so the DVs are. Yeah. It was like a man amongst boys. Yeah. Well, Hall of Famer.

SPEAKER_00:

You got beat by a Hall of Famer. So we'll give you a pass on the ball. Yeah, we'll give you a pass on the back.

SPEAKER_01:

A few years later, when I was the head coach at Crawford, we played the same school, and uh Terrell Davis was their guy. Wow. Okay. And then they turned around and beat us in the championship game. So we lost to two Hall of Famers.

SPEAKER_00:

Hey, that's pretty. I mean, hey, like you get a hall of pass. They got a Hall of Famer on the other side. I'm just like, okay, I got I might might take my lumps on this one.

SPEAKER_01:

Gerald Davis is pretty good in uh he was a nose guard and fullback. More scary. He played nose guard and he's just nobody could block him. Yeah, he was amazing.

SPEAKER_00:

Wow. So you started the varsity coordinating and then progressed to when did you get your first head job? When did you think, hey, maybe I can do this?

SPEAKER_01:

I got my first head coaching job when Chris Johnson was a junior in high school. Shout out to Chris Johnson at uh Crawford High School. And I I went over there and coached for a couple years. Uh and uh in fact, uh the year before I got the head job, uh a man named Roger Engel was the head coach, and he kind of you know brought me along, kept the name only because I was working for my credential, and they didn't want to open it up and have someone else because they had pretty much said, you know, as soon as you get your credential, you know, you're the guy. So it actually happened where I got my teaching credential on like a Friday. I finished everything, and Monday I was it was announced that I was the head coach, and uh that's cool. So that was you know, and so I was two years at Crawford as the head coach, three years at Colton as a head coach, one year at Riverside Poly, and then the quinta opened up, and that's when at Colton, I I know you took over a program that was kind of downtrodden with some recently.

SPEAKER_00:

You kind of won a game in two years when you took over, but something like that.

SPEAKER_01:

Something crazy like that. Yeah, it was almost two years that they had won a game. And the year before we got there in 10 games, they got outscored by 465 points.

SPEAKER_00:

That's hard to do. That's hard to do. You gotta be real bad to put those kind of stats up. So, what do you attribute? And you you know, us coaches were always looking for some answers from from legends like yourself. How did you take that program been downtrod and to and turn it around in two years where you were actually making the playoffs and competitive? What was I mean, is there a secret sauce that you had? What what do you kind of attribute that to?

SPEAKER_01:

No, you know, it's uh I've always felt, you know, kids will do what you demand them to do, you know, and uh they want to win and they, you know, they're gonna do those things. And and uh in that in that case, and in you know, some of the other places, uh there was just not a lot of discipline in the program. You know, they they they uh came and when they wanted, they mispracticed and still got to play on Friday nights. You know, never hardly could you know find them in the weight room and you know, just a lot of things going on. And and a lot of those kids at Colton at that time were were were from single parent families, you know, dads running around and stuff, and so uh you know they were looking for some some guidance. So uh I mean literally the first day that I was there we cut like nine guys.

SPEAKER_00:

First practice? First day, first day, wow.

SPEAKER_01:

And because we had a mandatory meeting for anyone interested in playing at lunchtime, and these nine guys didn't come. They went with their girlfriends or they went and did whatever they wanted to do. So six period when we had weight training, I was waiting at the door and they walked in and I said, Where were you? I I didn't feel like coming. I was with them, you know, I was doing this, I was doing that. Yeah, just go keep doing it, you know. And uh from the get-go. Some of those guys we you know, we uh ended up uh working something out, and a few of them we didn't. So we ended up playing that year with I think three or four seniors total. Wow. And uh we had to change the culture, yeah, from the beginning. Right, yeah. So we played with young guys, and that first year we went uh five and five, but we lost like three games by a total of six points, seven points. And then the next two years we won you know back-to-back league championships. We're like 23 and 4 or something like that. I don't know what exactly it was, but kids will do what what you demand of them to do. And if they're not willing to do it, then maybe there's another place for you.

SPEAKER_00:

Wow. So the discipline factor was something that you were you relied heavily on to kind of get your yeah, I really do.

SPEAKER_01:

I I I really do. Like I said, I I uh because when you get down on the one yard line and you know you need something to happen, you know, you gotta score, you know, touchdown, punch it in or do whatever, you know, you want to have guys that you know are disciplined enough, they're not gonna jump, they're not gonna do this or that, you know. They're gonna and the other thing we always do, we you know we really want to buy in the family and and uh counting on each other and how important that is, and and uh so I love that. Hold a high bar.

SPEAKER_00:

Right. Yeah. So you do it. Only three seniors on that first team, yeah.

SPEAKER_01:

Three or four, but yeah, we started with like 12 or 13 and and on that team. And uh put the ones that and uh and our uh uh actually our uh our motto that we put in the weight room and everything else, and we had it for a long time is uh excuse me, those who stay will be champions. That was on t-shirts and everything. And some stayed and some didn't, but the ones that stayed were you know they were champions the next year.

SPEAKER_00:

You selling that long-term vision, right?

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, and uh and then uh you know, same thing at Lakinty, you know.

SPEAKER_02:

I mean he said it day one. Right, we're gonna win.

SPEAKER_01:

We took some lumps.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, when you got when you first so that that three senior thing kind of jogged my memory because I'm old enough to be on the only Indio team to ever beat you. 95. Last uh DVL champion of Indio.

SPEAKER_02:

Yes, had some good.

SPEAKER_00:

We um we did beat you your first year, but however, there's a caveat, there was no seniors on your football team during that time. So, I mean, you kind of took that same philosophy when you got to La Keith and started building that program. I mean, you literally built that program from nothing. I mean, it wasn't there was no tradition. You guys didn't even have a field when you first got here, right?

SPEAKER_03:

Right.

SPEAKER_00:

So I remember those days and and from an Indio guy kind of looking over and seeing what you guys were doing. Oh, these guys are practicing at the middle school. They're no, they're no threat to us. You know, we just won the league championship, and you know, no little did I know that you know the the tides were gonna be changing very quickly here in the desert when we when we when you guys finally got some seniors on your team.

SPEAKER_01:

Well, you know, the the the thing is too, is actually a lot of people say, you know, that was hard, but it was easy really easier going from scratch because you don't have to undo what a lot of other people had done before you. That was it was much easier at La Quinta than it was at Colton for those first years or two, you know, because again, you know, it it's it's it's undoing, you know, mistakes and you know, and and uh starting our own culture and not having to redo what somebody else either you know created or put up with, I guess we can say. And so, but on the other hand, you know, we you know we had a bunch of young guys, we didn't have seniors, we had a lot of guys that that had not played football before. We had some transfer guys that transferred because they couldn't play at the school there. You had a couple Favar's guys that went on with everyone. Yeah, because you know, they don't have anybody type thing. I think we were everybody's homecoming. Yeah. We got used to 20 minute half times because you know everybody wanted to beat us at homecoming, you know. And then within two years, you know that was done. Yeah, where they they nobody wanted to, you know. We were trying to schedule them for homecoming. So some of the schools, you know.

SPEAKER_00:

I mean, it was pretty remarkable to see how quick you built that thing up, though. I mean, from the next year, uh Indio hasn't beat you since that 95 year, you know, so that's how that's how quick that's how quick. I mean, we've been I think it's been close a few times, but you know, I'm an old Roger. I know these things. We haven't beat Lakintas since that first initial year. And it's a tribute to how you kind of built that program out. You kind of, you know, you had an identity, you gave that team an identity early. You know, we always knew we always knew what you were gonna do. It's just could we stop it? You know, and that to me is the essence of football, you know, because it's not just it's not just X and O's and athletes, it's it's a desire and and a discipline that, you know, if you something you know is coming and you can't stop it, that's the ultimate win, right?

SPEAKER_01:

Um, you know, and and that, but uh that goes all the way back. And I got I got some of that from from my coach, but also uh, I mean Vince Lombardi, Green Bay sweep. Yeah, everybody in America knew Green Bay was gonna run that sweep at the pro level and they couldn't stop it. Yeah, you know, and I my I've always said, and Josh said it earlier, you know, keep it simple, you know, and uh do a few things really well, yeah, and not a hundred things half-assed. Excuse my language. Exactly. Uh so we ran counter, and everybody knew we called us Buck, and and and and uh that be that came from uh at Colton when we were trying to you know get a name for that. And the fullback we had pulling through all the time, his name was Buck Hamlin.

SPEAKER_02:

See, I never knew that.

SPEAKER_01:

So we just one day out there at practice, we just said, you know, we Buck's gonna lead through, you know, screw it, we'll call it Buck. You know, so that's how we came with that. And what was fun, yeah, exactly. And what was fun is you know, after, like you're saying now, after games, when coaches would uh come up and you know say, you know, we knew what you were gonna do, you know, and uh or you'd hear coaches talking, you know, when we were doing the film exchange for CIF or something, you'd be over here and some coach because they drew La Quinta, and you'd hear another coach saying, You better be able to stop counter. You know, you've got if you drew La Quinta, you'd and that was our take, you know, our pride and joy. And then my philosophy too is we'd run a few plays and then we'd play action off of each one of those plays. And uh, and other than that, we never did five-step drop. Everything was three three-step drop or play action. Just get really good at you know what you what you wanna what you want to do.

SPEAKER_02:

Keep it simple, stupid.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, keep it simple, Stupid. I got to f I I uh I spoke at the University of Oregon one year and uh that was a neat trip up to Oregon and everything, and that was the title of my speech. Keep it simple, stupid simple, stupid.

SPEAKER_00:

I mean uh it'll get you far in life, right?

SPEAKER_01:

And you can make it, I mean you can dress it up and make it. We you know, the people looked at us, we we ran really basically four running plays. We ran our ISO, we ran our sweep, we ran our counter or our buck and blast. But then we would sit there and call Q ISO. So that means now the quarterback's running it. Or we'd run, you know, F F Suite, fullbacks carrying it, maybe with F. So all of a sudden you got those four plays. Now you got three different guys that can run it. So now you have 12 plays. Now you've done it out of red formation, so you've got 12 plays. Now you do it, you flip it, you go out of blue formation. Now coaches that are have to defense you say, God dang, that's 24 different hooks they're giving us.

SPEAKER_02:

You go stronger weak.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, strong or weak. Then they got more. Then you're running motion with it. So it comes all the way back to oh god, they run. I got coaches would come up after me again, God, you guys run so damn much stuff. I said, We run four plays. Yeah, that's it. It's all dressed up because that those front five guys, yeah, they're only learning four plays. I don't care what you say. I mean, what you hear, I don't care about who's carrying it, F this, you know, uh uh T this, whatever, quarterback that. All you heard was sweep. Yeah, yeah, wow, and that's all you blocked.

SPEAKER_00:

So your line only has four calls? That's it. Wow, no wonder you guys were so efficient. Jeez, just play faster.

SPEAKER_02:

Four calls, yeah. Once you learn your job, you just gotta get faster.

SPEAKER_00:

You guys were almost taking so on the defensive side, we always wanted to keep it simple because we the kids we just want them to play and not think.

SPEAKER_03:

Right.

SPEAKER_00:

And you guys are just taking that approach to the offensive side. Oh, yeah, and I mean that's that's pretty effective once kids know their roles and their routines. That's that's that's why you guys are so effective at it. So everybody out there listening, hey, don't you have to reinvent the wheel over here to be successful, right? And speaking of success, though, so within five years, Coach, of taking this brand new school from the dirt up, basically, you know, you're in a CIF uh championship game two thousand by 2000, year 2000, right? So how I mean, how do you how did you kind of build that program to the pinnacle? Because that was, I mean, for those of you that don't know desert football, Lakinta and what Coach Armstrong did there is kind of we've all tried to emulate that since since he did it, is basically build that powerhouse because Lakinta was a CIF championship contender for at least the next what eight to ten years. You guys were in the mix in at least in some form. But in 2000, you kind of hit, you know, you kind of hit your stride. And uh what do you kind of remember about that time in those teams? He hired a good receiver coach.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, absolutely. That was it. You're not biased or anything, but but you know, well, the thing is too, that the two years before we won it, we lost in the semifinals. We had two great years, and and uh and the one and I think I don't know, uh I somebody have to cover, but I think we lost the eventual CIF chance. Was it Barstow or we lost a uh to uh Barstow when uh when Danny was a senior. Yeah, we lost about the year before that was Timaskull Cameron. That's right. That's right. And they had like seven or eight division one guys or something. They were loaded. And and and in that game, you know, they ran a fake punt at the end of the game and caught us and beat us 13 to 6. 13 to 7. And uh but then uh then we went, you know, the course then we we got the next two and uh and then later on in 2006 we you know went to the finals and west to north. But you know, we went to the CIS semifinals nine times.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, I remember you guys were perennial contenders for that title every year. You guys are always right there, you know.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, that was in and uh you know that was you know obviously something we were really proud of. The other thing we were really proud of is in the you know, every year that we had a senior class, we made the playoffs. You know, so that was something we always told the guys don't you know, don't be the class to break that streak. And they didn't want, I mean, they would talk, you know, the players themselves would go, we don't want to be the first you know, the guys to do that. So and that's what thing too when you're talking about.

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SPEAKER_01:

Earlier things is establishing tradition. Yeah, and that's what we try to do at Colton 2 right away was you know, get rid of the old and bring in some new stuff and establish some traditions. And uh, you know, some of them are, I guess, kind of archaic now, but uh some of them are still there, Coach.

SPEAKER_02:

They're still doing a lot of the same stuff we did back then.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, but I saw some girls wearing guys' jerseys. Yeah, uh oh.

SPEAKER_00:

Coach might not be happy about that. When it comes on Friday, people you better watch out. Might need to make an exception this week.

SPEAKER_01:

That was one of those rules you know, uh your girls. Girlfriends don't wear your jerseys or anything. Parents can wear the jerseys because parents make a sacrifice for you to be there and and do all those things financially, get you to practice and everything else. But otherwise, that jersey is a privilege. Yeah. And you earn it. Right.

SPEAKER_02:

And uh, you know, so you hear that, guys?

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah. So we gotta never let that happen. But I went to a game the game last year when I saw Phil, I said, what is but I didn't even notice, but I should have been noticed.

SPEAKER_02:

Times change.

SPEAKER_01:

Right. Times change. White Sox.

SPEAKER_00:

All those things. Things evolve, though. Things evolve. But so speaking to making the playoffs, 26 in a row is your streak of making the playoffs. I did my research. 26 seasons in a row making the CIF playoffs. That's a pretty nose out. Yeah. That's a pretty, it's a pretty outstanding from outstanding record. I think uh that's something that to be very proud of. I mean, I just thinking about my days when I was coaching in high school, the you know, the short time I did it, man, we would be happy to make it two in a row, you know, and to do 26 in a row. So that just speaks to your consistency, right? Of what you guys were doing.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, I I think you know, part of it with the that uh we were talking about last night before I came out, uh, is I I didn't think it was that many. I thought it was like I think it was only like 23 or 24 that I was but anyway anyway, um when I when we first came on the scene, it was uh uh it was like uh Palm Desert was the the was was tough and and uh so it was like Palm Desert La Quinta was was really hot and heavy. And then it became uh La Quinta and Cathedral City for the years that were really, really close. And then Palm Springs started, you know, Coach Fabian came in, did a great job, and yeah, turned that program around. And and uh I mean that was a you know bloodbath for all the time, you know. And that went on for a while, and then it kind of flipped full circle again and came back to Palm Desert for a few years and stuff. But but the thing that we were proud of too is it was always Lakita and someone, yeah. You know, and we all you know, uh somebody told me and and I I don't know how accurate this is of the of the 20 23 years or whatever that that happened, we you know we won you know some a lot of league championships, but uh somebody said 18 of those 23 years it was between us and somebody for the league championship. So that was you know something to be proud of too. But I wish we had won more. Yeah. Right. You know, I wish we'd have won a lot more, like I said. Uh so you know uh we obviously made mistakes at times, and and uh but it was fun to, you know.

SPEAKER_02:

I think we took it for privilege because I mean there was a a stretch of time Lakinta didn't make it, and it was it was like, what's happening?

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, right after you left, it it it it looked like they might have been going the way of Indio, a great power that kind of lost their their way. And then uh in the last couple years, I think kind of got back to the Lakinta roots, you know, running the ball, playing some defense, and you know, they're kind of they're kind of back on the scene now as one of the the powers down here.

SPEAKER_01:

So I think I think they've kind of returned to their roots, which are obviously I I get to see them sometimes, you know, when it screens back back in Ohio and stuff, and and uh yeah, I like they run that toss power, I like, you know.

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah, the one with the quarterback leads up, I love that too.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, well, you know that's the thing too, you know, is you know some some programs they like quarterbacks, kind of a you know, a little bit of a prima donna stuff, you know. Our deal was, you know, yeah, you you lead on sweeps. If you run out of bounds, keep running. Yeah, you know. If you slide, go out for baseball. You know, when you start making five million dollars a year, you can slide or you can run out of bounds, or otherwise, you know, you dip and strike, and then half the time our quarterbacks were safeties or like Chris Johnson. Great story, you know. Chris Johnson uh talked about I don't know if you want me to remember. Chris Johnson was offensive guard for me as a junior, and then as a senior, our backup quarterback moved away. We had the guy we thought was our guy, but our backup quarterback was a Navy guy. His dad got his dad got so that's two days before practice. So I went out to first practice and I said, We need a backup quarterback. And I said, Is anybody here ever, you know? And all the kids started saying Chris can throw. He was an all-league guard and linebacker, stud. And uh I said, get out of here, you know, come on, don't wait. And so Chris looked a little hurt, you know, and he goes, I and I said, get out of here, Chris. So finally I looked over and I said, All right, I go here. And I backed up about 20 yards and I said, throw me the ball. And I was like, well, you know, I said, Damn. That's a bad thing. So I said, do that again. Anyway, make the long story short, he ended up beating out the starter. Oh wow, the guard, the starting guard beating out the star guard. And was that year was uh all league, uh all league quarterback and outside linebacker. Wow, wow, and then he went on and had a great career at San Diego State, and then uh you know had a sniff in the NFL there for a couple years. Yeah, that's awesome. Great player. Now he's a local guy here.

SPEAKER_02:

That's cool. Yeah, small world, right?

SPEAKER_01:

So speaking another guy that played on that team for me was that you would know from India was James Gordon.

SPEAKER_00:

Yes, sir. I was I was the DC fair. Yeah, he's like him and is Daryl on that team too, or is Daryl No, Daryl's from Morris. Okay, so that James. Yeah, James Gordon's a good guy, good coach.

SPEAKER_01:

He did a real good job. In fact, you talk about some years you played us close. Yeah. That year that James was the was the head coach there. You guys played us real close.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, played you tight, just couldn't get over the hit, couldn't get over the hump, man. Couldn't get over you worked at Armstrong magic and turned us away at the end, uh, I'm sure. So, but uh speaking of some of your former players, coach, you've coached a lot of great players, a couple, you know, I think four or five NFL guys. Yeah, you know, who who stand, but of the thousands of players that you've coached, do you have any that kind of stand out to you to this day that you know that you kind of reminisce over and that you know that kind of well you know yeah, for a lot of reasons.

SPEAKER_01:

I mean, uh one, you know, what could have been, you know, hopefully if if he had a you know done what was uh Frederick Collins, absolutely obviously.

SPEAKER_00:

You know, I mean such a talent, man.

SPEAKER_01:

What a what a talent. I had a kid when we first opened the school, a kid named Demario Randy. He was my friend, yeah.

SPEAKER_00:

He transferred over to La Quinta. Yeah, we played with Pop Warner together. He was an amazing athlete.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, he may have been one of the he was a Sunday guy, I think, had things been different, you know, uh in the fourth day. Yeah, you know, you couldn't get away from some things.

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah, I remember he scored six touchdowns and and a half memory against Paul Strings. You had to take him out. Every way you could think of too pump return. I think we were trying to set up halfback pass, right? And it ends up taking it. Took off.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah. Man, he was good. He was good. You know, of course, Michael Kraven was was uh was a talent. And I mean there's there's just so many been I can go on and on. I mean, and that's the that's the thing. You know, you sit here and you know, it's a you know, it it's nice you guys have said such nice things, and and you know, this weekend's gonna be you know a nice deal and everything. But I learned real early that great players make great coaches, absolutely, and crappy players get coaches right.

SPEAKER_00:

And so you know, so I've been on I've been on both sides of that one for sure.

SPEAKER_01:

So uh, you know, it was just it was the perfect storm. I had a great coaching staff, and it was at a time when uh, you know, at Le Kinton New School, we could hire teachers and be on campus. You know, Coach Gad came in and all you know, some of these the other coaches that we had. So I had a phenomenal coaching staff. I had a very, very supportive administrative staff, you know, and then we just started getting some guys, you know. I mean, starting with that, you know, you I mean, even within a year or two, you know, yeah, and then all of a sudden, you know, um we start getting, you know, uh I of course I'm biased, but you know, dear place afternoon is yeah, uh you know, oh I mean, and again, that list can can go on. Mike Havens. Yeah, Mike Havens, you know, Oregon State. And then all of a sudden, once we started getting a couple guys, you know, signed, then of course colleges start saying, Where'd this guy? And and you know, this colleges started coming in, but the most amazing thing was the the uh recruitment of Michael Craight. I mean, that was insane. Every day after. I mean, Michael, I don't I can't count how many offers he had, but every morning I'd come in, they'd call from the front desk and say, you know, Rick Blue Heisel's here and all this thing.

SPEAKER_00:

Okay.

SPEAKER_01:

Bobby Bowden and the entire defense Florida State defensive staff came to our Wednesday night practice.

SPEAKER_00:

Wow, wow.

SPEAKER_01:

See, I didn't even know that. That's crazy. Yeah, it was then we went over to the house and Bob, you know, for his home visit, and here's Bobby Bowden. And then that was neat because Wednesday night was goal line. You know, we always go, they were all standing there, and uh Joe Gianoni was the other inside linebacker, the sophomore.

SPEAKER_02:

Imagine those two linebackers.

SPEAKER_01:

And uh and uh the linebacker coach from Florida State walks over to me because we were doing ice. I mean, it was getting lively on the goal line. I know, and he's he knew who Mike was. Obviously, he's a recruit Mike, but he comes over, he goes, Hey coach, he goes, Who's 44? And I said, He's a sophomore. He goes, he was writing as fast as he could as he could write, you know. And uh so yeah, you know, like I said, and then it's it's no mystery. I mean, some of that, you know, uh shadow opened up, yeah, and you know, we started losing some guys, you know, and then uh got a little thinner, yeah. You know, and our boundaries changed a little bit, and uh some some feel we got too many high schools out here now.

SPEAKER_00:

It feels yeah, well that's an ongoing discuss discussion on this show. We may have too many uh 11-man football teams at the moment. We're all fighting over all fighting over the the the all the kids because there's not enough, but you know, that'll kind of play itself out as the season goes on. But um, yeah, I mean speak to speaking to all those great players, Coach. You you had a you had a great you know run, um 26 in a row. What what kind of um what kind of attribut what kind of things do you attribute though that that great run to in terms of like was it practice? Was it you know having the administration help? Was it what is it?

SPEAKER_01:

Well, you know, they said it's it's well they said what's the old saying, you know, it takes a village to run a yeah to uh raise a kid. Well, it's kind of the same thing as it's all of that, you know. You've got to be able to count on your administration, you know, to help when you need certain equipment and stuff like that. I had some great administrators, you know, that would you know help us find ways, you know, and then uh the kids were, you know, we another thing, you just you know our kids we did fundraising, you know, to to you know have a have the program what what we wanted. And we told the kids, you know, this this is your part, you need to raise you know raffle tickets for that old bug or something or that you need to sell it became you had to sell ads for the program. Yeah. And if you didn't sell ads, you didn't get your pads.

SPEAKER_00:

Wow.

SPEAKER_01:

And okay, and we enforced that.

SPEAKER_00:

Well that's why today we even did what today happened.

SPEAKER_01:

Well what happened, it was interesting, was there was a lady who actually worked at the district office, and she called me on it one year, and she said, uh you can't do that, it's a public school, it has to be provided for them, and he's not gonna sell those ads. And I said, All right, fine, you're right. You know, I said, but we have 150 kids out here, and we're gonna issue gear tomorrow, and he's gonna be the 150th guy to get it.

SPEAKER_00:

Oh, dang.

SPEAKER_01:

And I said, and what's ever left over, guess that freshman pads, huh? He showed up the next morning with like$300 worth of ads. Magically, that's what I said. What what you you know, we had our summer program where you had to have 20 workouts in. Yeah, we got 19 in, you didn't play.

SPEAKER_00:

Wow.

SPEAKER_01:

And uh because we give him like 40 days to get in 19, so or 20, I mean, so it wasn't exhausting, you know, it wasn't such a deal, you know.

SPEAKER_02:

I took the sunbus, I got there, it's fine. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01:

And uh we had a kid one year, I think I'm crazy, but his parents were on vacation and they flew him home to his aunts after the last work, the last two workouts.

SPEAKER_02:

I love that. You know, so I mean it's just a testament to what you built, though. People really bought in and wanted to be there, right?

SPEAKER_01:

You know, and that's the thing, you it got to where you didn't have those problems because you know you had gave him 40 some days. There was guys that were there 40 days, yeah, yeah. And and uh and that's how you win. Yeah, is you start getting a whole lot of guys on getting 40 in, or you know, 35 to 40, and very few guys wait until the last day to get their workouts in, you know.

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah, and that's part of building the culture, right?

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, everyday culture. That just flows into practice in the summer and works all that, yeah. It was so much work already put in.

SPEAKER_01:

They wanted their, you know, if you were an all-league player better, you got your picture on the wall. Yeah, yeah. And they wanted their pictures on the wall. Still there. Yeah, I mean you gotta get some respect, right? Scholarship row and all those things, you know. The locker room, our locker room was was pretty sweet, you know. We put a lot of things into the locker room. Like all those little things, you know, touching the wall when you go out and the sign, and yeah, just like in a lot of colleges.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, so you just built that tradition, right? That was just that was part of it, just adding to it every year, right? Just you're part of something that's bigger than you, as you especially as you got longer on longer into that streak, right? It's like you said, they just don't want to break. They don't want they're gonna come to that extra practice because they don't want to break that streak, right? Because it breaks it.

SPEAKER_01:

You know, I've when I played at you know at high school, uh, Coach Gad and I played together at Kearney High School.

SPEAKER_02:

Coach Gad?

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, and uh and he uh uh he can tell you Kearney had the same thing. We had a record at that time of like uh winning the league for like like 14 years in a row, we won the league.

SPEAKER_02:

Oh, before you got there? Yeah, well as you were part of it.

SPEAKER_01:

As we were part of that 14-game, you know, 14 years where Kearney won the league, and you he can tell you we were just in locker room. You know, we don't want to be the team to blow that, you know, and especially at halftime in one game. I mean, we only won uh I think we won uh 10 to 7 or something, and I think we were down, you know, at half, and we're like, no, you have to dig deep against Madison High School. I still remember that. He just no, we're not gonna be a team. And so that that kind of stuff puts added pressure, yeah. You know, and then the other thing too is a lot of that stuff became uh enforced by the players themselves. Yeah, I didn't have to do that because players would say don't do that. You know, you we don't do you know, especially guys that would you know transfer in or come in come in new, you know, you hire all the time. We don't do that here. You know, that's no, we're not gonna do that, it's not gonna be tolerated, you know. And so they did it got to the point where it was kind of the seniors regulating stuff, exactly. All right, and we talked about that all the time. Um senior leadership, yeah, senior leadership, you know.

SPEAKER_02:

It's important.

SPEAKER_01:

Oh because they're the ones showing the younger guys how to do it. Exactly. When when you came when I went to high school, I know that I looked up to Rocky Lois, I still remember names like that that were seniors, and I still remember that. And I hopefully, you know, some guys when I was a senior, you know, looked looked up to me. I don't know, but uh you know, it's just right of passage, right?

SPEAKER_00:

Doing it the right way, and it kind of just it's a self-fulfilling prophecy at that point, right? It just keeps on rolling through. Um you're kind of known for your discipline, hard-nosed football, your defense, you run the ball. What do you think of today's game? I mean, I always like to ask the the coaches have been doing this a while because our game has changed, especially even at the high school level, they put restrictions on when we can hit now and how long we can hit and going full gear. And and I know those are some things that you didn't really have to deal with. What do you what are your what are your thoughts on those on the way the game has kind of changed in recent years?

SPEAKER_01:

Well, you know, I I I I honestly believe you know some of the things are are are good. You know, I mean uh I mean there's no question there was you know there's an issue with concussions and things like that. And uh so you know, uh just because we did it that way doesn't mean it's wasn't you know it's always the best way, but right, but I don't think there is any any substitution for toughness. Yeah, you can't coach height, you you can't coach speed sometimes all the time. Uh you know, there's a lot of things you can't coach, but you can coach toughness, you know, and uh you know I remember and Josh can tested this. We we'd be in practice and we would run the same play and say do it again, do it again, yeah. Do it again, do it over until we get it right. Yeah, and we'd be here all night until we get it right.

SPEAKER_00:

It's coming back. We have a flashback.

SPEAKER_01:

PTMV coming there going there, and of course, and the scout squad defense knew the play was coming, so then we did be scout squad all Americans all Americans crashing in. In fact, uh, you know, Centennial has a great program, you know, Corona's Centennial. Oh, yeah. Matt Logan's a good coach, and I went one time and I talked to him. And I used to get mad sometimes when I'd say run it again, and then the scout squad guys, you know, would go flying to the play, you know, and screw it up. But then Matt Logan said, you know, uh that I took from him probably the last eight or ten years that I was coaching that we tell the scout squad what play we're gonna run. So we go up there and say, All right, we're gonna run sweep right. And of course they get and they all go flying. Yeah, yeah. And and you know, you the practice looks like hell because you know they're cheating all day over there.

SPEAKER_02:

The kids are reaching as hard as they can now.

SPEAKER_01:

Exactly. They're reaching, and and that's the only way that scout squad can, you know, compete, really. Can simulate mission VA hope for some of those teams we play. And mission VA's making all faster. And so all of a sudden, you know, we get in games sometimes and it would just be, you know.

SPEAKER_02:

I love that.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, you know, just be so I got to the point where I said, I don't care if they know the players or not, you know. And then then we always got to the end of the practice where I said, Okay, three perfect plays. Three perfect plays. Practice is over as soon as we run three perfect plays. Sometimes that took 30 years. We could be there all night. Wow, okay. You know, three perfect plays and we'll get off. And perfect, they gotta be perfect.

SPEAKER_00:

Like everybody gotta do their job.

SPEAKER_01:

And then there were days where it would come out, and you know, maybe took us four plays to get three perfect players. And then we say, Oh, we're we're good, we're ready. I loved it.

SPEAKER_00:

That's great, man. That's great. Um, the transfer portal thing, yeah, that's something that you didn't have to deal with as a coach. Do you think because nowadays it seems like it's more player, like cater coaches are catering to their players a little bit more than we had to back in the day. Um, how do you think your style would have had to adjust to the transfer portal and the the the ways things are kind of going?

SPEAKER_01:

Well, you know, it's it's funny because you know, we were accused a lot of times, people were saying, oh, looking for getting these transfers and all that kind of stuff. We never recruited a soul in our in in in anything. The thing that if if we were guilty of recruiting, the thing that was was attracting attracting him was who we were playing. Guys wanted to play Mission VMware and and you know, St. Bon Adventure and other people said I was insane for you know scheduling those teams or and whatever, and you know, our win-loss record maybe could have been better, but it made our guys ready for league, you know, when you play that non-league schedule. And as a player, if you're a good player, you want to play the best, you know, and you want to get, you know, uh, you know, uh compared to you know the best. And uh, and even when you know, when when recruiters would come in, college recruiters would come in, uh, they'd say, uh, you know, they'd see, you know, who could they say, I want to see him against Mission Viejo, I want to see him against Villa Park. You know, I don't want to see him against, you know, no offense to anybody, but you know, yeah, I don't want to see him against, you know, so and so.

SPEAKER_02:

I can see that.

SPEAKER_01:

Because uh and that's the same thing too with highlight tapes. It kind of got to the point where highlight tapes weren't such a big deal anymore because you can make anybody look pretty good on highlight tapes. So they say, show I want to see a full game and see them against the best competition you played. So we like, you know, I like to do that. And then everybody said too, you know, why you know you're playing these teams that are you know bigger and stronger. Why would you do that? I said, I don't care, they don't hit me. Yeah. I'm coming out fine. Yeah, I mean, I haven't, you know.

SPEAKER_00:

But you did schedule those games to give your kids a chance at the next level, right? Ultimately, right? So you get some film for the next for the next level guys that were at that level, right?

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, and then also, like I said, just it was everything was predicated on league, you know. You had to, you know, you wanted to win the league, you wanted to win CIS, you had, you know, you had to position yourself for the playoffs by how you finished in the league. So it's just a lot more important than how you did in the league. So, you know, I fact that one year, uh, I can't remember what year it was, I think we were uh 0-5 in the non-league, and then 5-0 in the league, and went to the CIS M. We ended up, you know, nine and or whatever it was. You know, we ended up we but uh uh and we won the league that year, you know, fairly handily after we had gone through murderers row in the preseason.

SPEAKER_00:

Right.

SPEAKER_01:

I mean that and that that that one year I do remember, even I at the end kind of said that that probably wasn't too small, you know. Little beat up, a little beat up coming into the league that it was murderous row. I mean, it was baton death marks, you know.

SPEAKER_00:

So you live and you learn only four four tough games in the schedule that easy one right before leaving or something like that.

SPEAKER_01:

Try and get into all of that somewhere, you know. And but uh it was quite an experience, I can tell you that.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, a lot of fun. A lot of fun, a lot of fun. Well, speaking of fun, yeah, we'd be reminisced if we didn't talk about Friday and what's coming up this Friday. The the reason you're in town, Coach, yeah is uh yeah, it's about time. I think it's about time that we we we recognize what you've done for this community and what you've done for that school. So if you guys don't know, Coach Armstrong is getting the field at La Quinta High School, dedicated to him on Friday night. So this will probably air after that. But yeah, just to kind of it'll come out. But but just to let you guys know that this is a this is a legacy, a legacy, uh well-earned legacy of the field. The field's gonna be there a lot longer after us, Coach. So how are you feeling about this?

SPEAKER_01:

You know, I mean, obviously it's a it's a great honor. Uh uh, you know, it's humbling, but uh you know, it same thing I said before, there's so many people responsible for that, you know. I'm not you know uh the coaches, everybody else is involved, the players. That's why uh you know we're honoring also the 25th uh anniversary of that 2000 CIA championship team. So a lot of those guys will be there, and uh you know, so that'll be fun.

SPEAKER_03:

It's gonna be fun.

SPEAKER_01:

And and actually when they won it in 2000, uh it was a predominantly junior laden team. So we won it in 2000 and came back and won in 2000. Which is crazy back to back titles. Yeah, it was 26-1 and one those two years or something. And the only team we lost to was Eisenhower, who was uh defending national champions, mythical national championship. And it was six seven or something, right? It was a close game to get us in the fourth quarter.

SPEAKER_02:

Webb scored. My guy. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, and that's fun too, you know. Like you said, getting some of those D1 guys, be able to watch them on TV, you know, flying around the country watching Danny play, you know, that was fun. Being able to go to some of those stadiums, you know, BYU, and you know, they played Ohio State in the shoe and those kinds of things. So, you know, that was fun. Watching Michael, you know, Craven play, and then of course Webster in the uh in the league and John Ingram in the league. And you know, so that it was a lot of fun. But yeah, just that this is a nice deal, you know. Uh you know, when you go you don't go into coaching for that, you know, that's way you know, it's not anything you even think consider or think about, you know. But it is nice though, after the fact. It is nice. And you know, I have a grandson, and you know, hopefully more after that that someday might, you know, go say, yeah, that was you know, that was my grandfather or something. You know, that that's something, you know, that'd be cool, obviously.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, it's awesome. I think it's well deserved about time, I would say.

SPEAKER_03:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00:

Um, and yeah, we're we're looking forward to it, Josh. We'll be there representing Desert Valley Blitz. Um, yeah, we know you got a lot of places to go, coach, but we always we want to ask our our legendary coaches about what would you tell somebody that's maybe thinking about youngster getting into the your profession, getting into the coaching profession? What advice would you have for somebody that's maybe thinking about taking that career journey?

SPEAKER_01:

Well, you know, first of all, you're a teacher, you know, I think, you know, and and uh one of the things that I always and again, I you know, I was fortunate to have coached under some great coaches and learned some good things. And one of the things that that stuck with me forever was remember that every kid out there is someone's son. And you don't treat a f a first stringer any different than you treat a fifth stringer. You don't, you know, you have rules, and the rules are for everybody, and you enforce them equally, no matter what the talent level or whatever, because whether and you know, everybody is somebody's son, and and uh how would you want your son treated? So that's always you know stuck with me. And if some people think, well, you're awful damn hard on your son. I know how it was sometimes, you know, probably and I you know well we loved it. Yeah, yeah. But uh uh so that's really important, you know, that to not lose track of that. And and I would jump guys, you know, all the time. But you know, I wanted to I was the first guy to yell at them, but I also tried to be the first guy to pat them on the ass and make sure that they knew that you know I you know I loved them and you know we're gonna it'll it would be better tomorrow and and that kind of stuff. I didn't have a lot of rules, but the rules we had we enforced and and uh and everybody had to abide by them. Yeah. Everybody, and and I mean, like I said, and you can the other thing I learned was was you know, there's some tough decisions in coaching. I mean, there really is. And there's times when, you know, uh how do you discipline or how do you do this? But you gotta, again, in my you know, humble opinion, is you're responsible for 150 kids. And sometimes a kid is more valuable to your program as an example than he is as a player. So if you know, if you you got someone that's uh you know breaking the rules or you know doing things like that, I mean you got 149 kids looking at you saying, How's he gonna handle that? You know, and so people think sometimes I made some you know real callous decisions and stuff. I had a lot of sleepless nights, yeah, things like that. I never once disciplined a kid or you know, suspended a kid or kicked a kid off the team that I didn't lay lay awake, you know, and a lot of times trying to talk myself out of it, right? You know, but you gotta make your decisions based on what's good for the entire program.

SPEAKER_02:

Right. And uh I think the other kids crave that that someone's gonna come through and and hold a high bar and and hold everyone to it.

SPEAKER_01:

And like, you know, I mean, when I say the same thing and I look at uh all the things in the country that are going on, like you said, football changing and everything. I always say, look at the service academies. Those are the toughest kids in the country. Yeah, they're playing skids, you know, they don't have any five stars on their list, they don't have any two or three. Your your brothers. Yeah, they you know, they don't have any one or two, even one or two star guys, and they'll go out and play anybody in the country. Anybody, yeah. And they don't have you know neon gloves on and you know all this other stuff, you know. They don't have they don't have their names on their jerseys or anything. They play as a unit, you know, and and they're the best our country has to offer, you know. And uh that's what I always never let the kids, you know, we never put names on the back of their jerseys, you know. They couldn't wear all these armbands like everybody wore white socks. You know, and yeah, and the only thing that makes you stand out is that number on your back. And uh when a coach comes across the field after the game and says, Who's number 48? Right, that's when you know you've played. Yeah, quit worrying about how you look, just worry about how you play. Yeah, and uh, I think I look into embellish that, you know, for a long time.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, I love that. And they seem they're getting getting back to that. I think you're starting to see your influences a little bit have more heavily on the team. Oh, it's still there, his influence is still there, 100%. For sure. Well, coach, you're a living legend, man. We're we're we're blessed to have you on the show.

SPEAKER_01:

My wife might want to hear we'll we'll cut that up and send it to your wife.

SPEAKER_00:

Um, but you know, we're blessed to have you on this show. You know, you've been you've been a role model for thousands of kids in this valley, and and I've never played for you, but you you've inspired me and and a bunch of other guys that never even really met you. So we're happy to have you on the show and and we wish you the best of luck. And Friday night, we just want to congratulate you on that stadium and uh thanks for coming in.

SPEAKER_01:

Well, I appreciate you guys having me. It was it was it was good, you know. And as I said, uh wasn't always right, you know, but uh you know, try best and you know you learn from it. And I think that's the other thing in coaching. Coaching is a non-stop learning experience. Yeah, yeah. The first time you start thinking you know it all, you're gonna get your ass handed too.

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah, yeah. So that's what I'm doing now. I'm trying to still learn. Yeah, constant learning.

SPEAKER_01:

Well, you will.

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah, I am so you know stuff.

SPEAKER_00:

If you're not learning, you're dying, right?

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, just like man, it's just like being a parent. Yeah, there's no manual.

SPEAKER_00:

Gotta gotta just keep get up every day and and learn the lessons of that the day's teaching you. So yeah, well, coach, thanks so much. It was great. You were awesome. We'll be looking forward to celebrating with you on Friday night at the stadium. I appreciate having me. All right. Well, if you guys found some value in that, you guys know what to do. Like, subscribe, and follow. And we'll see you next time on Desert Valley Blitz.