The De Anza College football team ends the season with a 5-5 record, eight Coast Conference All-League players and possibly an All-American.
“We’ve had the winningest season of 16 years,” said Head Football Coach Dan Atencio. “I feel real good about this season. We were one game away from a bowl game, we won five games in a row, beat Yuba [College] who beat our league champ, and had the highest number of all league players ever.”
With 67 of 80 players returning, Atencio is setting up a mandatory program, Football Academics Success Team, which focuses on improving athletes’ academics and retention. The FAST program stresses the importance of academics and transferring.
It will consist of a weekly one hour session in which athletes will go over weekly schedules, work on study skills and note taking techniques, and will have tutors and English as a Second Language help available to them.
Along with tutors, guest speakers such as academic counselors and financial aid representatives will be brought in. FAST will make sure athletes work on getting transferable units so they can move on as soon as possible.
“I don’t want to loose these kids,” said Atencio. “My goal is to have them be able to transfer midyear and at the maximum take two years to finish.”
Through the FAST program, Atencio will closely monitor each player’s classes by e-mailing instructors about the class status. A chief program goal is to raise the playing grade point average from 2.0.
“If we raise the standards of what we expect, the kids will do better,” said Atencio. “I tell my student athletes I don’t hope you go to class – I expect you will.” This program, along with the new off-season conditioning training and the new sporting event area overhaul, which includes a new turf field, track, scoreboard and lights, will make prospective athletes more likely to choose De Anza.
“I’m looking forward to future recruiting,” said Atencio. “We will be able to attract good quality players.”
Atencio is not only working on recruiting potential players but also getting current players recruited by quality four-year universities. One of Atencio’s driving reasons for developing the FAST program is to reach his goal of getting a scholarship to every athlete who wants it.
Recognizing that top universities look for players who show promise in both the classroom and the field, Atencio encourages players to work on both athletic ability and academic achievement.
“I can get a kid a scholarship,” he said, “but [the athletes] have to help me.” Currently he has 30 coaches lined up to look at the 12 sophomores that will be transferring in the fall.
Though Atencio is spearheading the off-season football program, the support of the school has made it easy for him. “I’ve been at schools where people are real negative toward athletics, but here that’s not the case. From the president of the college, to the athletics director, to the P.E. staff, everyone has been very supportive. People will even call me before a game to say good luck.”
