THEPOINT

The football coach’s office is full of couches and desks, but dominated by a mammoth TV screen. Reclined on a leather couch before it, Head Coach Guy Gardner picks at a sushi tray, eyes fixed on blurred frozen image of helmets hunched over a stretch of green.
This is Coach Gardner’s first year leading Sea King football.
Last year’s season saw a somewhat sudden change of staff—former coach Pat Fresch was removed of his post after a disappointing 2-8 record.
Gardner looks to change that, and may be well on his way.
“I’m fortunate to have a real good staff here with me. A lot of other coaches were already here ... I’m just kind of lucky to get that,” he says.
Gardner’s coaching history is fleshed out: 10 years as an assistant at Mira Costa and nine years coaching schools in Orange County. He was even an assistant coach for the Sea Kings in 2003.
It’s an early Wednesday afternoon, and in two days the Sea Kings play the South High Spartans for PV’s first home game.
But Gardner feels that only the current moment matters.
“Today we have a practice Wednesday, and that’s where we really need to focus is this practice. During that one practice, that one play you’re doing right there—do that as best as you can, as hard as you can, and go to the next play.”

The season’s layout has barely changed—J. Serra and Morningside High are the only new opponents.

But practice has changed, and players have noticed.
“We’re definitely working harder,” Senior Captain Jimmy Yukevich said the next day. “The general attitude of the team is that we have kids who want to be there, instead of kids who just want a jersey on Friday.”
Gardner couldn’t know the differences from last year first-hand, but he does realize he demands high commitment.
“We go pretty late; kids probably aren’t leaving until 6:30, and coaches get out after that,” he says. “We’re trying to be honest and intense ... It’s not militaristic but it’s not easy either.”
Yukevich sees this in a good light.
“We’re lifting during season, which we didn’t really do with Fresch, and practice is a lot longer, but I figure that’s a good thing.”

From the earliest moment the Sea Kings had their goals set.
“Before spring ball started we all went into the gym and set our goal of winning league, which is pretty big ... We’d like to sweep league, but we decided we wanted to win ... and see how far we could get in the playoffs,” Yukevich said.
The staff shares their expectations.
“That’s pretty much where Coach Gardner’s aiming us to go,” Yukevich says. “We just have to pick up on that.”
Then came the Sea Kings’ first game—a loss to J. Serra 7-27.
“It was kind of a shock,” Yukevich said. “The first quarter we were getting smashed like we did last year—but last year we would have quit in the first half. This year we stuck with it the whole time.”
Gardner just saw something to be gained.
“Three weeks ago we learned how to play after we lost,” Gardner says.
Then came only wins—against Morningside 36-13, and San Pedro 20-14.
“This is the week we’re going to have to learn how to play after a win,” Gardner chuckled, referring to Friday’s match against South. “A mature team doesn’t care. A mature team, you win you lose, you come back and play just as hard or harder. Are we that team? Seriously, I don’t know. We’re not gonna see the fruits of that until Friday.”
But there’s an irony to the match-up—the Spartans are coached by three former Sea King coaches, including Pat Fresch.

On Thursday, Yukevich couldn’t wait.
“The coaching staff has told us that this is just another team we have to play and have to beat...but that’s our old coaching staff on the other side, so we want to beat them pretty bad.”

The bitter memory of last year’s loss to South still lingered. But did the team have the advantage of knowing their coaches old plays?
“We figured that Fresch would try and trick us because we already knew his plays, [but] we just worried about ourselves,” said senior running back Victor Mancusi.
For the first time this year, the team took the field before their home crowd and the cheers of the Red Tide.  Energy was high from the first instant—PV’s first five possessions all ended in touchdowns. The board’s red bulbs glowed 35-7 at halftime.
“It was kind of awkward [playing Fresch], but we kept our focus and did what we had to do,” senior linebacker Scottie Trudnowski said.
The hot Friday ended with a 48-14 win for PV.  Victor Mancusi finished the game with an impressive 18 carries for three touchdowns, but he couldn’t do it alone.
“It was all the linemen.  I ran and they did a really good job blocking,” Mancusi said.

What now?
The Sea Kings stand at 3-1, with one win more than last year already.
But several more Fridays await, with plenty more practices and plenty more to win.
Yukevich sees big potential benefits for the team’s confidence.
“If we keep winning, the morale at practice will be pretty good because the kids will realize ... we’re out here five hours a day because that’s how we win games, not just ... to drill [discipline] into our heads,” he said.
Again, it comes back down to consistent energy.
“The sign of a good team is matching [Friday’s] motivation at a Monday practice,” Gardner says. “I think once you start doing that...you’re gonna be pretty good.”
Yukevich knows that isn’t easy.
“We have our good and bad practices. A lot of times the coaches will find ways to make us compete with each other, and that brings up the intensity ... but every once in a while we have a flat practice. We try to get more good than bad.”
When it comes down to it, Gardner says it’s team’s captains—Baiz, Yukevich, Mancusi and Nick Tomich—who determine how much players get out of a day’s hard work.
“They have a lot to do with keeping it going,” he says. “And as we [coaches] always tell them ... we don’t have any moral eligibility. It’s about them.”

Daniel Bethencourt can be reached at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Jack Flanagan also contributed to this article.