Ralph Molina has been part of successful high school sports programs everywhere he’s coached in the Santa Barbara area.
He plans to continue that tradition as the head football coach at San Marcos High.
The school introduced Molina as the Royals’ new football coach on Monday at the Thunderhut.
“We are excited to have him lead our Royals in the upcoming season,’ said Principal Kip Glazer. “He brings the maturity and experience that will be invaluable to our football program.”
Said Athletic Director Abe Jahadhmy: “We’re very, very fortunate to have somebody with his experience, and the respect he has in the community, and the knowledge of football. We’re very lucky.
“I think he’ll take our program to the next level.”
Molina replaces Jason Fowle, who last month stepped down for family reasons after six years at the helm.
Molina comes to San Marcos after spending the last four seasons coaching the defense at Santa Barbara High.
That defense was key to the Dons’ fantastic 2019 season, when they won the Channel League with an unbeaten record and advanced to the CIF-SS Division 8 championship game — the program’s first CIF finals appearance in 30 years.
Due to the truncated timeline and the pandemic, Molina was appointed as an interim for the 2021-22 school year. But the administration is fully confident he will remain as the head coach beyond the upcoming season, Glazer said.
Molina hits the ground running as football teams are currently participating in spring workouts for the fall 2021 season.
At his introduction, he told the football players in attendance that they got to get in the weight room and start preparing for summer workouts. And, they’ll be entering 7-on-7 passing competitions.
Molina said the idea of bringing back the glory of San Marcos football enticed him to apply for the job.
“I remember when this was a really, really good program,” he said. “I told the kids I played in the stadium when I was in high school at Bishop Diego (in the late 1970s). Boy, (San Marcos) had some great players back then and throughout the years.”
Molina coached at San Marcos in the late 1990s, serving on the staff of Roger Kuntz.
“I got to coach Bradley Van Pelt,” he said, referring to one of the all-time great Royals football players.
“They’ve had some talent over the years,” he continued. “They’ve struggled over the last few years, but I really think there is a lot of potential here to turn this program around. And, for me, that’s what got me thinking about, ‘Where do you want to go?’ The Dos Pueblos job came up, but I wanted to be here.
“I really think we can turn this thing around.”
Jahadhmy is thrilled about the future of the program under Molina.
“Everywhere he has been, he has made each program better. I am excited for our athletes.”
A retired Santa Barbara Police Department lieutenant, Molina has been part of the local high school coaching community for more than 35 years.
He was the interim head football coach at Bishop Diego in 1985, and became an assistant at the school under Norris Fletcher in the early 1990s. He also was on the staffs at San Marcos and SBCC before returning to Bishop to coach the defense under Tom Crawford.
In Molina’s second stint at Bishop, the Cardinals went to the 2007 CIF finals and played in three CIF semifinals during a seven-year span.
Molina’s career also includes coaching baseball at Carpinteria and Bishop Diego. His 2017 Bishop team advanced to the semifinals.
Hilda Maldonado, the superintendent of the Santa Barbara Unified School District, expressed her approval of Molina’s hiring.
“I am delighted to learn about Mr. Molina’s family background and history of supporting so many people in the community,” she said. “I can see that he will be an equity-minded and enthusiastic leader of all our students, and understands how to connect with all our families. I look forward to seeing his contributions to the San Marcos football program.”
San Marcos is coming off one of the most successful athletic school years in county history.
The Royals won 13 Channel League championships (boys basketball, soccer, swimming, lacrosse, tennis, track & field, golf, wrestling and baseball; girls soccer, track & field, swimming and softball) and have a CIF-SS title in girls soccer.
Molina is hoping to encourage athletes from other sports to play football.
“My goal is, ‘Why can’t football be one of those winning programs, too?’” he said. “My goal is to reach out to those other athletes. I played three sports in high school, so I believe in that. There is the exception. There are those kids that may go on to the next level and are being offered scholarships.
“I’m going to encourage my football players to go out and play other sports.”
Molina said he’s been preparing himself to be a head football coach again.
“I wanted to have another opportunity to be a head coach, and when this (San Marcos job) popped up, I said, ‘This is where I want to be.’”
— Noozhawk sports editor Barry Punzal can be reached at bpunzal@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk Sports on Twitter: @NoozhawkSports. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.