New South City football coach Dion Evans trying to build program amid a pandemic

“I am trying, but it is getting harder because of the noise,” Evan said, referring to coronavirus information and updates that bombard the news cycle throughout the day. “Every time we go through a date change (to the start of the season), I lose kids.”

To that end, Evans said he’s been trying to do football-related activities as much as possible. In addition to weekly video conferencing meetings with the team, he has had some of the players he expects to lean on get as much exposure as possible. So when there was a showcase for high school football players in the Bay Area, Evans did what he could to get invitations for his players and in other cases, simply signed up for all-comers combines. While the quality of the showcases can vary, Evans simply wants his players to know that they are allowed and encouraged to participate in events that they previously may have thought applied to blue-chip recruits only.

“If you get invited to a showcase, that’s a big deal. You’ve got to get them out there and you want (other) schools to know South City does exist,” Evans said. “I used showcases as a way of inspiring certain players who could be leaders within the team.”

Larger benefits

Evans used his presumptive starting quarterback, sophomore Mariusz Tan, as an example. At one event, he said Tan was nervous as he completed only about half his passes. At his next event, however, Tan had more confidence, completed most of his passes and even threw a touchdown.

“Now he cares about the footwork drills,” Evans said. “Now he feels ready to be a quarterback and that’s what I need him to do.”

He says these showcase events are beneficial to his players’ parents, as well. Many players have scant experience playing football and Evans is hoping parents can see their kids have the athletic talent to be on the field and reduce any worries they may have about playing the sport.

“Parents, who have never seem them play football, see them compete in this setting and think, ‘I think he can play,’” Evans said.

Not only is Evans trying to put his best up against the best the Bay Area has to offer, he is also had his players go against each other in intra-squad combine — a football aptitude test of sorts on the field, that has players running, sprinting, jumping and doing other football-related skills.

Again, all in an attempt to make what they can do — amid the pandemic — fun.

“The kid who ran a 4.6 (40-yard dash)? Wonderful. Now let’s see if you can get it to a 4.4. The kids that does that, he feels he can conquer the world,” Evans said. “Imagine 53 kids all getting better scores and how they’re going to feel about it? That mentality is going to create a level of play that you just can’t get if the kid doesn’t feel good about himself.”

Learning life skills

But Evans is about more than just the athlete. He is also concerned about coaching these young athletes as people. So while his podcast with players are related to football, the line of questioning runs the spectrum: from what the player’s family life is like, favorite school subject, in addition to the hows and whys about football. The podcasts are posted on YouTube.

Not only does it allow the coach and team get to know a teammate better, the players are also learning valuable life skills about public speaking and taking the time to give thoughtful answers.

It’s still a work in progress, however.

“Every single one has been extremely nervous. But this is a prep ground for us. … You have to learn to talk right now. … That’s why I don’t tell them what the questions are ahead of time. I want them to have to respond fast,” Evans said. “For our freshmen and sophomores, we’re doing a chronicle build up for their senior year. For our seniors, it’s for college coaches to learn a little bit more about them.”

It hasn’t been all fun and games, however. Evans said he is looking for players who want to commit to the team and the program. He said he can put high school athletes into one of two categories. The first group has completely bought into what Evans is offering. The second group includes players who have reservations about trying to prepare for a season that may not happen.

Commitment

It’s those in the second group that Evans has been weeding out. When summer conditioning workouts began, he said the program — both junior varsity and varsity — had a total of 77 players. That number now stands around 53. It may mean small numbers for both teams, but Evans takes pride in the fact that the players who are still participating really want to be doing so. He said he has already dropped a dozen seniors who did not have the commitment Evans required. He figures you can’t win with players who don’t truly care about the team.

Evans said those players are allowed to come back as long as they meet a set of requirements — an onus he puts on the kid to make right. He wants them to prove to him they’re committed to the team. So far, only one player has asked for a second chance. Evans said the player still has not followed through. Evans is not just going to let them back on the team because the team needs athletes.

“What do I have to lose (in cutting players)? I only want the kids who want to play. The one who are ‘whatever’ can’t be won over the kids who want to be there,” Evans said. “We’ve gotten better as a team. Now we’re trying to convert it into a program.”