Leaving futbol for football

The Carlmont girls' soccer team opened the Central Coast Section Division I tournament with a 3-1 win over Santa Teresa Wednesday. The win extends coach Jim Kelly's tenure one more game as Kelly has decided to step down as head coach at the end of this season. Citing family as the main reason and pulling double-duty as the soccer coach and swim coach, Kelly created quite a legacy with the Scots: Eight straight Peninsula Athletic League Bay Division titles from 2000 to 2007, 10-straight CCS appearances, three CCS championship games and back-to-back CCS titles in 2004 and 2005. It's not as if Kelly will be riding off into the sunset, however. He'll still teach business math at Carlmont, or as he calls it, "everyday math," and he'll continue as the school's swim coach as well as the school's sports events coordinator and faculty advisor for student government. Oh, he'll also be joining new football coach Jason Selli's coaching staff. Say what? "It's kind of crazy," Kelly said. "I've been bitching about Carlmont football for 15 years (about their lack of success). The seed got planted last year from one of the administrators, who asked, 'Why don't you coach (football)?' There's no way I'd do football." But as he seriously thought about giving up the reins of the girls' soccer team, the more coaching football appealed to him. "I'm kind of looking forward to it," Kelly said. "It's a completely different challenge. "I asked the administration if this was OK and they were all for it. "For me, personally, I want to branch out a little bit. I want to do more than just coach girls' soccer. I'm looking forward to the challenge of doing something new." There's one small problem: Kelly has never -- ever -- coached football. He played four years of soccer at Capuchino and served as an assistant soccer coach at Aragon under then coach Michael Flynn for a couple years before taking over the Carlmont job. But American football? The more Kelly thought about it, the more he seriously considered taking Selli up on the offer. It's not like he's going to come in and run the offense or defense -- maybe the kicking game -- but that's not what Selli was looking for, Kelly said. He said Selli was looking for a coach -- someone who knows how to run a practice, get a team prepared for a game, instilling discipline, work ethic and accountability. All the attributes all good coaches possess. Plus, as just an assistant, he won't have to do all the heavy lifting. It will allow him to spend more time with family, which includes an 11-year-old son and a six-year-old daughter. Working through the late fall to early spring, it's been difficult to do those winter-y type things with his family. "My six-year-old daughter asks me, 'Daddy, why can't we go to the snow?'" Kelly said. Because daddy was always working with the soccer team in the winter. Although he has never coached football, it's not like he is totally clueless about the sport. Kelly is fan of all sports and while he may not know exactly what the three-technique is, he does know how to get the best out of players and he knows how to teach -- whether it's math or sports. "I've been able to do that my whole life," Kelly said. And don't expect Kelly to jump in and then decide after a year it's not for him. He's made a commitment and as long as the administration will have Selli and his coaching staff, Kelly is in it for the semi long haul. "I told Selli, if we do this ... it's a five-year plan. We put five years into this thing, (and see) if we turn it around and put Carlmont in CCS." Despite his excitement for a new chapter in his coaching life, leaving the soccer arena was not easy. He helped turn the PAL into a legitimate soccer powerhouse and the success of his teams helped improve the quality of the entire league. "I told all the (PAL soccer) coaches at the PAL (post-season) meeting (about my decision). It was kind of emotional. I put my heart and soul into that program and got it to where it [is]," Kelly said. "Philip DeRosa (Burlingame girls' coach) said, 'You kind of set the standard here.'" Before he turns his attention full time to the swim team and then football, Kelly still has some soccer business to take care of. The Scots won their first-round matchup with Santa Teresa 3-1 -- a rematch of last year's first-round game, as well as the 2002 CCS championship game. They now face third-seeded Monta Vista Saturday, the defending Division I champs that needed penalty kicks to beat the Scots in the quarterfinals last season. "It's kind of neat to see where the PAL has come from to where it is now," Kelly said. He hopes to accomplish the same success with the Scots' football team, a program that has not made the CCS playoffs since playing in the 1991 Division II North championship game, a 21-7 loss to Hillsdale, a 20-year drought. Although if the Scots do finally make CCS while Kelly is with the team, he is under no illusion that he'll create a legacy with the football team. "I'm such a bit part in this thing," Kelly said. "If we turn it around, it won't be because of me." *** In the Feb. 11 edition of the Daily Journal, a clarification is needed. In the story, "Champs at last -- Serra soccer team wins first outright WCAL title in 19 years," it was reported midfielder Sam Vella was a foreign exchange student. Actually, Vella was born in Redwood City and was raised in San Mateo County. He spent his junior year in Germany before returning this year to Serra for his senior year. Nathan Mollat can be reached by e-mail: nathan@smdailyjournal.com or by phone: (650) 344-5200 ext. 117.