CHS football made changes to the coaching staff in the hopes of finding more success this coming fall. The varsity team will be having changes both in the moving of coaches in the program and loss of coaches that have worked with the program for years. The definite changes in the coaching staff are the addition of Jose “Coco” Jarin as assistant varsity coach, as well as the loss of Jack Harper. Junior and varsity football player Ryan O’Connor is ready to go into senior year with the changes to the team’s coaching staff.

“I think that Coco and the other coaches we have for next year bring a lot of experience and knowledge to the table,” O’Connor said.

Along with the changes from team to team, the program will also be losing Coach Harper. A defensive-back coach, Harper will be taking the year off. As for now, his leave will only be for a year and will be his first year away from coaching in 35 years. After coaching at CHS for such a long time, Harper has seen many great teams come through and even managed to win CIF. The expertise and experience of coach Harper will be tough to replace, but the program is hoping to still have a solid season with the additions they have planned.

“After 35 years of coaching it will definitely be difficult to take a year off and I am going to have to try to keep myself busy,” Harper said. “What I am going to miss most is all the practice and preparation and especially the
opportunity to help the student athletes grow.”

Despite the loss within the program, there is a light at the end of the tunnel in the form of a new assistant varsity coach. Last year, Jarin was head coach of the freshman team and helped them obtain a record better than that of the previous year. Jarin has now been promoted to assistant coach of the varsity team by head coach Mike Collins. With this change, Collins hopes that Jarin will bring a much needed wake up to the team which struggled to play through the fourth quarter last year, something that Jarin emphasizes in his practices. The varsity and JV teams have both been practicing speed and agility with Jarin this off-season, as he regularly runs these types of camps throughout southern California in addition to coaching high school football. This coming season will be Jarin’s 34th season of coaching with past experience not only at CHS, but also multiple Division III colleges and junior colleges such as Claremont McKenna College (CMC), Mount San Antonio College (Mt. SAC), and the University of La Verne (ULV).

“My goal is to help provide a solid foundation for the athletes to build better versions of themselves,” Jarin said. “I want to start to build a culture of football in Claremont, something that is not really present so much right now.”

The varsity team looks to be the best they can be this coming season and this will begin during May when they start spring ball. The varsity and JV teams will practice together throughout the spring, which will be new to the program. Harper will be missed from the varsity team, but coach Jarin will be welcomed with open arms and with all these changes, the team hopes to see some positive change before the next season.