Mitch Olson hired to lead Barons’ football

Mitch Olson addresses the Barons’ football team in a meeting on Monday. Photo by Uy Pham.

By Uy Pham

Fountain Valley High School announced the hiring of Mitch Olson as the new head coach of the school’s football team on Monday, pending approval from the Huntington Beach Union High School District (HBUHSD) Board of Trustees. Olson introduced himself to the Barons’ football team during an after-school meeting.

HBUHSD later confirmed the announcement in a press release. 

“I’m excited to be here. Everybody I’ve met has been outstanding,” Olson said. “It’s also the community. When I hear people say ‘Barons for Life,’ I understand what it stands for here.” 

Olson recently coached Loara High School for six seasons, resigning in 2021 to allow the administration to hire an on-staff football coach. Before that, Olson coached at Kennedy High School for 21 seasons, where he won eight league championships and amassed a record of 163-85-3.

“The best part of coaching is having a relationship with the players, getting to have individual meetings with them … If it wasn’t for that, I wouldn’t coach,” Olson said.

At Los Alamitos High School, he was a three-sport athlete in basketball, baseball and football; at the time of his hiring at Kennedy, he still held the Los Alamitos records for season and career rushing yards. He also recently spent time coaching flag football at Laguna Beach High School. 

“I am a community coach. I’m not just about football, but all the things that the school has to offer and being part of it, and having our kids being part of it,” Olson said. “[I want] these kids acting with the utmost level of character on the field, in the classroom, on campus and in the community.”

His accolades include 18 appearances in the CIF play-offs, notably a CIF championship in 2006, six semifinal appearances and 12 quarterfinal appearances.

“There’s two levels of success. Society measures on wins and losses. I measure on what these young men are going to be like 10 years from now,” Olson said. “Are they going to be responsible citizens and leaders, giving back to society? That’s success. When you establish that, success on the field comes also.”

“We were looking for someone with that kind of experience, and if you look at his resume about how he’s done over the years, talking with people that know and coached with, they couldn’t say enough great things about him,” Athletic Director Roger Holmes said. “He was great in our interview process, and I think he’s the guy we need at this point this time … We want to gain respect for our program, play with discipline and together as a team. That’s the number one goal for all athletics.” 

Olson replaces David Gutierrez, who resigned after leading the Barons for four seasons.