After an unsuccessful season last year, Ayala Football looked to bounce back to conquer the intimidating Baseline League and bring home the bone after last year’s defeat to their rival, Chino Hills High School. However, going into the off-season, tenured head coach and teacher AJ Gracia announced that he had resigned from coaching Boys Varsity Football for Ayala. The announcement came suddenly, as other high schools around the area were shocked when an insider announced Gracia’s resignation on X. Soon after his resignation, the search for a new head coach began, resulting in the hiring of Terrance Smith.
Smith was a late-season hire this past season, being chosen as a Wide Receiver coach for the Varsity team. Being a part of the Green Bay Packers practice squad during their 2010 Super Bowl run, and also an Arena Bowl Champion, Smith works on perfecting the wide receiver position, but also holds a football-sound mind, being surrounded by the sport for years.
“I think he brings a very intense outlook to the team. He’s gonna work until you can’t work no more, and I think that’s a good thing for the team in its current state,” said player Dakota Bostek (11).
The current state of Ayala football does not fully represent the amount of success and talent that has come and gone through the program. Since the hiring of Gracia back in 2016, Ayala made a full 180 going into their 2017 season. In his whole tenure, Gracia only lost the rivalry game against Chino Hills High School once, had six winning seasons, made the playoffs in almost every season, and helped bring Ayala into the spotlight after years of mediocrity. Although Gracia’s years at Ayala are over, Smith looks to mark a new era of Ayala football by not only bringing them back to glory, but by getting them deep into the playoffs and hopefully a division title.
“I want to win CIF ultimately, that’s my goal. I want to bring one to Ayala. I want to bring that championship home, to make that happen for us. The school deserves it. Community deserves it. Ayala deserves it,” said Smith.
As the new head coach, Smith’s goal is to carry on the Bulldog glory, and to establish what it means to be a Bulldog. Working with many greats in his time through the National Football League (NFL) and Arena Football Leagues, Smith has an urge to work, to succeed, and to take steps necessary to mount a revival of a program that’s been doubted for years.
“We have a very young team this year, but with the leadership of Coach Smith and all the coaches he brought in, I really want to see how he can build a really great team. I look forward to seeing what he brings,” said player Antonio Chen (10).
A blueprint to a successful team is understanding, hard work, and having a great team chemistry that can move past all adversity and doubt. In the past years, Ayala has had classes where teamwork has proved to be the defining factor of the team, and having a head coach that aims to continue to promote closeness, to learn from past mistakes, and aims to not repeat the parts that hold them back is destined to be a good head coach. This is what Smith strives to be.
“We have to learn from our mistakes, and as long as we can accept what happened and not shy away from it. We need to figure out why we’re losing and why we’re making those first round exits, and let’s build on it right now and make it better as a team,” said Smith.
Now in their off-season, Ayala looks to work extremely hard, to build a strong bond with new staff and players, and prepare for a turnaround season.
