Jacob Ochoa is the new football coach at Glendale High School. He grew up in the Glendale community, and he went to GHS playoff games when he was younger. He used to coach at different schools, including Alhambra High School, Glendale Community College, Rancho Cucamonga and La Canada High School.
Coach Ochoa has been very passionate about football since he was a kid. He studied the sport and played on the varsity squad at Eagle Rock High School. He didn’t play football in college, because he thought he wasn’t big enough, so he gravitated towards coaching. He fell in love with the game, and he knew coaching was what he wanted to do for his career, which has now spanned 15 seasons.
The hardest decision Coach Ochoa ever had to make was to leave a Division I school to rebuild the football program at La Canada. He was coaching a successful team already, and he ended up going to a team that wasn’t very successful at the time. But he is proud that he took this path, because it led him to Glendale High School.
Coach Ochoa looks for a hard-working player. He wants his athletes to be very passionate about the game and also great students in school. Laziness is something that he will not tolerate. He also is frustrated by a lack of discipline and when players do something different from what they’ve been asked to do.
Coach Ochoa’s family is his number-one motivation. He tries to set a great example as a man, as a father and as a husband. He tries to be as successful as he possibly can be in every area. He wants to avoid failure, and he doesn’t want to fail in any aspect of his life.
Coach Ochoa had experienced a bad season with Alhambra High School. It was difficult, but it was a learning experience for him. He coached the team to learn from their mistakes and pushed them even harder to accomplish more next season. The following season was successful and they went 9-3, including playing a home quarterfinal playoff game for the first time in quite awhile.
Due to the pandemic we don’t know if the 2021 football season will happen, but we all hope it does. Coach Ochoa would love to think the first game will be normal, but in reality it might be very different and players will wear masks. He’s not sure if the marching band would be a part of the game, or if fans will be allowed on the bleachers, but he hopes that they will be.
Coach Ochoa sees himself with Glendale High School for many years to come. He wants to turn the program in the right direction. He wants the team to grow and be successful and to be viewed as a better football program. He’s very excited to coach the Glendale football team and grow with them as a family.
