Mike Reynoso takes over as new hoops coach at Foothill College

As Reynoso enters his next foray into the community college basketball circuit, though, he is keeping his sense of rivalry focused on an old nemesis — City College of San Francisco — the champions of the Coast Conference North now for 10 straight seasons.

“So, our sights will still be set on them,” Reynoso said. “You still want to establish dominance in the area. … The more you establish dominance in your area, the more it helps you with recruiting, the more it helps you get your footing in your area.”

Reynoso has never had trouble getting his footing. A 2002 graduate of Serra — and a devout coaching disciple of his former high school coach Chuck Rapp — Reynoso went on to take his first coaching job at La Jolla High School when he was still attending college at San Diego State. He returned to the Bay Area and coached at Woodside until he moved up the road to take his first college position as the head coach for Cañada.

After his sojourn at CSM, he retreated to the south county and spent two years as an assistant coach at Menlo School. Coaching with Keith Larsen’s staff at Menlo was a different kind of gig for the longtime blue-collar likes of Reynoso.

“Just obviously being at Menlo was awesome, getting to have that kind of atmosphere,” Reynoso said. “Very family driven, just right up my alley. … It was one of those things, I missed helping guys out, I missed what junior college was all about, putting guys in positions to change their lives.”

Reynoso’s upbeat, high-intensity coaching style has always translated into teams’ style of play. His 2014-15 season at Cañada will live in infamy as the year the Colts made a run at a state championship. Falling just short, they reached the California Community College Athletic Association semifinals before losing an overtime heartbreaker to Saddleback College.

But it was a regular-season win over City College of San Francisco that personified Reynoso’s coaching style as good as any. In a nonstop, run-and-gun shootout, Cañada trailed 59-52 at halftime but dominated the second half to win 105-96.

Reynoso is looking to design a roster that can hang with the likes of CCSF and has already tapped into the San Mateo County pipeline to do it. Myles Nunez, a 6-4 guard out of Sequoia, who last played with the Owls in 2018-19, is slated to return for his sophomore season in 2021-22. Foothill also scooped up recent Woodside graduate Timothy Yee, a gritty 5-9 guard who fits the Reynoso mold perfectly.

“You can tell that he’s very passionate about basketball,” Yee said of his new coach. “He loves teaching. He loves coaching.”

Reynoso’s blue-collar roots trace back to Serra where, as a 5-5 guard, he received a master class in coaching from Rapp.

“He fueled the fire, for sure,” Reynoso said. “Everything I could remember from him, from how he motivates … and that’s the best thing you can say about Coach Rapp in many ways … is because he motivated people. He’s an inspiring person to play for and when you have that, you understand, this guy, he pours everything into what he does. So that’s how I approach everything now.”