When Desert View head coach Jim Monaco decided to take the job as the leader of the Jaguars’ football program before last season he had three goals.The first was to increase the participation numbers. Monaco’s mission was to get as many kids involved in the football program as possible, whether it be at the varsity, junior varsity or freshman level.
The second was to keep all the kids eligible. It is of utmost importance that players involved with the Desert View football program also live up to their academic requirements.The final goal was to create better men out of all his players. While football is a game, Monaco came to the realization that it is more useful as a steppingstone toward life lessons rather than just taking it for face value.
There was no mention of the word “winning.”
“If you look at wins and just wins, you are done,” Monaco said. “You need to look at kids graduating, putting young kids into college and bettering their lives. And once you can build that type of self-esteem, then the wins will come.”
Despite not making the 4A-I state playoffs since 1996, Monaco already made a monstrous impact on the Desert View program and it came in the form of getting players into college.
Desert View missed the playoffs yet again last season, but Monaco had six of his players sign national letters of intent to play college football. Monaco, who used to coach at Pima Community College, got on the phone with old colleagues and rivals which drew interest in his program.
Though other teams were snagging the headlines in terms of playoff success, Monaco’s team sent the most players to college in Southern Arizona. Four players went to play at Mesa Community College, one went to Fort Hays State (Kansas), and the other went to Wabash (Ind.).
“What good is football if a kid doesn’t learn how to play it or go on to (the next level of) school, or help mold his life? It is nothing. It can’t just be a sport, it has to be a life skill,” Monaco said. “So at this place, that’s what we have made football — a life skill.”
Being a former police officer in both Boston and Tucson, Monaco knows how to get his point across. Visually, he is the typical football coach. Monaco wears a tight T-shirt on a muscular build and a whistle gently dangles off of his neck.
The look is just about right.
Catch a glimpse of any Desert View game or practice and Monaco can be seen getting in players’ faces, raising his voice — flat out wearing his emotions on his sleeve. Monaco said it may be because of his Italian background, but his colleagues see it differently.
“He is a yeller and a screamer, and a lot of people are actually attracted by that,” said Daniel Linden III, offensive coordinator of the Desert View varsity squad. “He is passionate and he truly cares, and I think once the kids see that, they latch on to him and go for the ride.”
There is no secret, however, that an ultimate goal of coaching is winning and Monaco doesn’t stray away from that concept. The coach will tell you all day that grades and integrity are far more important than winning a game, but perception of the program and the kids who play in it are also something Monaco holds dear to himself.
But with the achievement of the aforementioned goals, winning has started to come. Monaco finally has all three squads —varsity, junior varsity and freshman — fully fielded for the first time in six years and the total number of kids in the program increased from 85 to 125.
That being said, only six players in the entire program are flirting with ineligibility after 14 fell below the required “C” last year, because the lessons taught at practice are helping the kids on and off the field.
His goals have been accomplished.
“You can be good on talent alone,” Monaco said. “But without passion and character, you are going to back down. When I got this job I believed in character, intelligence and passion. I would take that any day of the week over just talent.”
Jose Alguna, a junior defensive tackle on the varsity squad said he takes every lesson received from Monaco seriously.
“I had two different coaches my freshman and sophomore year, but when (Monaco) came I immediately noticed a difference,” Alguna said. “His intensity just rubs off on us during games and practice. It makes us want to always get better."
“He helps us with off the field stuff too,” Alguna added. “He talks about integrity and hard work. If you work hard and have it in your heart and the ambition, you can accomplish anything on and off the field.”
Before Monaco’s arrival, Desert View football was always an afterthought. Opposing teams felt they could walk in and cruise to a victory — and they did. After not being close to playoff contention in what seemed like forever, last season Desert View barely missed the postseason with a 4-6 record. This season the Jaguars are 2-3, but with a few extra breaks, it could have easily been 4-1. The program, both academically and competitively, has turned around in Monaco’s short time as the head coach.
“I think teams really need to prepare for us now. We are not just a bland offense and defense, and I think scheme-wise we have added some good things,” Monaco said. “But if I am going to be proud about something, it’s that I helped put six kids in college, because they did the work. I just made calls.”
“Wins will come,” Monaco said.
