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New coach settling into Ashland By Joe Zavala Ashland Daily Tidings Quietly, a new era in Ashland High football began this week. David Coldiron, who was hired May 2 to replace longtime Grizzly gridiron coach Jim Nagel, made the move from Southern California to Ashland last week and promptly took over the 19th annual Ashland High Junior Varsity Football Camp on Monday. Ashland High new head football coach David Coldiron (right) runs a drill during the 19th annual Junior Varsity Football Camp Monday. The camp marks Coldiron's first duty since moving here. Ashland Daily Tidings/DENISE BARATTA The week-long camp, for players in grades 4 through 8, represents Coldiron's first official duty as head coach since making Ashland his home. It's early, but Ashland High's second head coach in 21 years says his first impression of his new home has been a good one. "Oh, I love it," Coldiron said, after a player's impromptu dance exhibition wrapped up Day 1 of the camp. "Everybody's been so nice and friendly. It's great because when you go to the grocery store, it takes you a little while to shop because you get a chance to meet people. In fact, (Sunday) night, one of the parents goes: 'Now coach, you have a JV camp tomorrow, do you need our son there tomorrow to help,' and I said, 'Well, actually it would be nice.' So, it's really nice to have that kind of interaction with the community." Besides building for the future, the camp also gives Coldiron a chance to work with his future staff since most of the AHS assistant coaches have volunteered to help out. Joining Coldiron on the Ashland High practice field are: offensive line and defensive backs coach Jerry Hauck; defensive coordinator, linebackers and running backs coach Dave Kitchell; quarterbacks and defensive backs coach Scott Chadick; receivers and defensive backs coach Mark Crumley; offensive and defensive line coach Jeff Shroy; linebackers and running backs coach Steve Mitzel; and offensive and defensive line coach Stan Gida. That lineup will join forces with Coldiron in August when varsity practice begins in an attempt to resurrect the program. Following a run of 17 consecutive playoff appearances, the Grizzlies have missed the postseason two years in a row. But that development is far from Coldiron's mind. Right now, he's more concerned with keeping local youngsters interested in football. "Kids have a lot of choices of what they want to do today," he said, "whether it's staying at home and playing with their X-Box, or becoming a skateboarder, they have a lot of choices. So, it's really good for us to expose them to something early and hopefully, they have fun with it, and hopefully, they feel like they can learn something with it and it's something they can continue to do, because if (they) don't, we're not going to have people when they become freshman and sophomores and juniors and seniors. We won't have people, so it's really great to try to create that interest now." Coldiron and his staff are focusing on offensive and defensive fundamentals, the challenge being to keep it fun. One way they're doing that is by wrapping up each 2 1/2-hour day - the camp runs from 9 to 11:30 a.m. - with a scrimmage. Those scrimmages have a twist, however. Every player, linemen included, is an eligible receiver. "The linemen are actually making a lot of plays," Coldiron said with a chuckle. The new coach is also taking advantage of a few Grizzly player-volunteers, who are getting to know their coach and re-learning fundamentals at the same time. "And it's good for them, too," Coldiron said, "because then they start going, 'Geez, coach, so this is the reason why you teach us like this,' or, 'Coach, how come it takes them so long to learn this. Then I look at them and I go, 'Remember how long it took you to learn it.'" Coldiron is learning, too - about Ashland politics, courtesy of the parade, about small-town life and about what he'll have to work with in the fast-approaching season. So far, he says, he's picked up a lot, and not just about unloading boxes. "I'm feeling like I'm an Ashlander now," Coldiron said. "I've got to make the trip down to the DMV this week and get that changed, but other than that, I feel like I'm an Ashlander." LINKS: DAILY TIDINGS: Main | News | Sports | Obituaries | Opinion | Columnists | AP News | Subscribe | Archives | Weather | Classifieds | Contact Us | Privacy REVELS: Main | Calendar | Dining | Movies | T.V. OTHER: Road Cams Copyright 2003 Ashland Daily Tidings 541.482.3456. 1661 Siskiyou Blvd., Ashland, OR 97520. Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. - Advertisers -