By Olivia Krueger, Sports Editor
On Dec. 6, it was announced that Jimmy Nolan would not return for his fourth season as the varsity football head coach in order to commit himself fully to his speed training business, explore other opportunities and refocus on his family.
After Ray Fenton resigned as head coach in early 2016, Nolan took over the program in early July and has since led them to a 3-12 record in league play and 13-20 overall along with two postseason appearances in his three seasons at Fountain Valley.
“The number one thing that coach Nolan brought to this football program, besides speed and toughness, was helping us to have confidence in ourselves. Throughout my high school football career, the team’s confidence grew consistently and I think coach Nolan had a big part in that,” said senior running back Mathew Fuiava.
With the death of assistant coach Scott Panique along with numerous varsity players quitting before the last game of the regular season, the Barons’ 2018 campaign has been nothing short of an uphill battle.
“I know that coach Nolan cares for the kids and the football program but he also has a lot of other things on his plate like his family, speed kills business and some other things as well. I know that he would love to stay, but being with a bunch of teenage boys for 4-6 hours a day can be exhausting and at the end of the day it’s his decision and you can’t really be mad about it,” said Fuiava.
The day of Nolan’s resignation, Principal Morgan Smith acknowledged his success and commitment to the program in a letter to the football families.
“Each of my schools [has] been a difficult task because I always look for like the impossible underdog job. It motivates me, it gets my blood pumping,” Nolan said in an interview with the Daily Pilot. “I feel like I left [Fountain Valley] better than I found it, and that’s what you always want to do as a coach.”
Although the news came unexpected to many players, Nolan is confident he made the right decision for himself as well as the team.
“My conscious is good with leaving it how it is right now. I think they’re going to do really well. I think they got a really good team coming back,” said Nolan.
