Janet Sauter
ASU Student Journalist

A change in culture for Marcos de Niza football

November 28, 2018 by Janet Sauter, Arizona State University


Coaches talk with players during a timeout versus Mesquite. (Photo: Janet Sauter/AZPreps365)

After his first season as the Padres’ head football coach, Eric Lauer can see that the culture is slowly beginning to change for the Marcos de Niza football team.

Football provides valuable life lessons, far more important than learning Xs and Os, Lauer believes. He hopes that his players’ successes off the field will translate to success on it.

One of the most important aspects Lauer is trying to teach his players is the importance of how focusing on academics in high school will benefit them when they go on to college.

“What is our role as coaches? It has to be more than just coaching for me because you can get anyone to do that,” Lauer said. “I want to focus on things that are going to last, like their character and education. Academics have to come first, now and later when these kids have families of their own.”

One way Lauer has addressed the importance of academics is by hiring an “academic coach,” who goes to study hall with the players to help them with their homework and checks their grades weekly to make sure they are not failing.

This has helped raise the team GPA from 1.9 last year to 2.9 this year. The football team also did not have any athletes deemed ineligible after the nine-week grade check during the season.

However, Lauer did decide to bench some players in the first few games of the season for having bad grades. Lauer wanted the kids to see the importance of having good grades and the value of the players holding themselves and their teammates accountable.

“Coach Lauer has made the kids not only care about having classes but care about the grades they are receiving in those classes,”  said Carlos Alvarado, Marcos de Niza’s athletic director.  “That’s one of the big changes I’ve seen. No other coach that I have worked with has hired an academic coach.”

During the season, the players have study hall three times a week before practice so they don’t have to worry about only being able to do homework after practice.

“By the time some of these kids get home it’s 8:30-9:00 p.m. The last thing they want to do is spend two hours on homework,” defensive coordinator Giovann Melendez said. “Study hall gives them an extra chance to work and get their homework done before they get home.”

Study hall during the season would cut into their practice time but Lauer believes that the extra time spent in the classroom is a benefit to his team.

“I would hear Coach Lauer telling his players ‘This isn’t punishment. This is the work we have to do.’,” Alvarado said. “That was neat to hear.”

Now in the offseason, the players still get the choice to attend an optional study hall twice a week. While some players are busy playing other sports, many still attend this optional study hall. Players who aren’t playing another sport are also participating in the offseason workouts that Melendez is running.

Many teams give helmet decals when players make a nice play. The Padres do it differently, in that players get stars for hitting the GPA mark each week. They get football decals for doing character-building activities around campus as well.

“The players already get praise for touchdowns at the games,” Lauer said. “That’s the easy part. We’re going to reward them for the more challenging part: going to school, being on time and doing the right things.”

Being able to get all the players to buy into a new system is tough. However, Alvarado believes Lauer was able to get his players to lock in because he demonstrated to the boys that he cares about them and the program.

“I remember praying for a state championship," Lauer said. "I was able to get one and experience that with my son. However, the lesson I learned was it wasn’t everything and it isn’t what matters in the end.

“Don’t get me wrong. I truly appreciate it. However, character, education and how you treat people is what is going to last. Those are the things that we’re trying to focus on. We want our players to be good people.”

Heading into his second season, Lauer has higher expectations for his squad then this previous year. The Padres were able to end the season on a high note by beating two playoff-caliber teams but finished the season at 3-7.

“We have a good group of kids coming back," Melendez said. "If they stay focused and keep working hard as they have been, then we will definitely turn some heads next season. As coaches, having a full year under our belts to implement our system and have the kids truly understand it, will be a huge advantage too.”

The high expectations on and off the field will continue next season for the Padres. Marcos de Niza hopes to start the season with the same intensity that they were able to end the season with.

Lauer had some big shoes to fill since he replaced Paul Moro, the state’s winningest high school football coach. However, it seems like Marcos de Niza has found a coach that will not only strive to make the program better but to make the players better students and people.

“Eric Lauer is an honest, hard-working man of very high character,” Alvarado said. “It has been pretty amazing to watch what he has done in his first year as head coach.”