All coaching changes are unique, but the one just undertaken at La Jolla High should be a rather smooth one, given the individual chosen to lead the school’s football program. Rey Hernandez, who has served for a number of years as the team’s defensive coordinator, was elevated to head coach as veteran head coach Dave Ponsford recently stepped down. Ponsford had been a part of the La Jolla High football program since coming to the school in 1981, serving as head coach the last 11 years. The Vikings finished at 4-7 last season in what would turn out to be Ponsford’s final year at the helm. Hernandez said he is extremely grateful for the opportunity to lead the Vikings into battle this coming season. “Along with the job comes a tremendous amount of responsibility, and there will be many challenges ahead,” Hernandez said. “I was reading a professional journal yesterday and a coach quoted Muhammad Ali, who once said, ‘It’s not the climb over the mountains ahead that wears you down, it’s the pebble in your shoe.’ My goal right now is to remove all the pebbles from my shoe. Usually in football the things that keep you from being successful are things like jumping offsides, players not coming to the weight room or a kid with a bad attitude that brings the whole team down. These are the pebbles in our shoe that we intend to remove.” Hernandez, a teacher at Muirlands Middle School, is no stranger to the La Jolla High program, having worked with three head coaches in his 30 years of coaching high school football. He has been associated with the La Jolla High program since 1990 and has coached with Jim Arnaiz at Helix, along with Dick Huddleston and Ponsford at La Jolla. “All three of them were men were willing to let me coach and trusted me with the responsibilities assigned to me,” Hernandez said. “I am very fortunate to have been associated with all three, and I believe that the time I spent working with them has prepared me to effectively carry out my duties as a head coach.” La Jolla High Principal Dana Shelburne said in a released statement that what Ponsford has meant to La Jolla High School athletics goes well beyond the wins and losses his teams have amassed over the years. “Most importantly, he (Ponsford) has served as a championship-caliber mentor and role model for scores of young people who have had the honor and privilege of playing for him,” Shelburne said. “His devotion to the Viking ethic of integrity, his love for and commitment to his athletes, and his dedication to La Jolla High School and its students will forever be etched in our hearts. Given the expertise and passion of Coach Hernandez, we envision a seamless move into a new and exciting era of Viking football.” Although Ponsford will no longer be active on the gridiron scene, he will continue to teach at La Jolla. “My decision to step down was not at all because I was upset with any aspect of being the head coach,” Ponsford said. “For 11 years I attained my dream job. But, after coaching football for 37 years, I felt that my ‘fire’ was not what it should have been this year. The position of head coach for football is a year-round commitment and that has played a role. I am looking forward to spending more time with my wife Linda and traveling more than we have been able to.” While Ponsford is leaving the football field, he’s also taking many positive memories with him. “My greatest memories happen every Friday night,” Ponsford went on to say. “I still love that. I am very honored to have worked with such fine young men, and maybe having a role in making them become better human beings and citizens. Also, I have had some great friends who have helped coach the team during the past 11 years, and I am excited that one of them, Rey Hernandez, is going to take over the program.” Ponsford will still be teaching the same subjects that he has taught during all of his years at La Jolla High School: advanced placement United States history and one class of regular United States history. And as history will show, Dave Ponsford will be remembered as not only a winner on the field but an excellent example for young men to follow.