‘Family on me, family on three’

By Catelin Owens

Brad Talich was a father figure for many of our football athletes. The time athletes spent at practice was equivalent to the time spent with their actual parents. He treated all his athletes with the same amount of respect and was always making jokes on the field.

“He treated us all the same, he treated us like we were his kids” Jordan Patterson, junior, said.

Not only did he take the football team to the Sunrise Semi-Finals, but he was awarded Coach of the Year by Southern Nevada’s Coaches Association.

“We did better this season than Coronado has ever done. Taking us deep into playoffs and for the first time ever competing with the second and third best teams in the state behind Liberty and Arbor View.” Jake Collins, junior, said

Talich brought all of his athletes together not only as a team, but as a family. He took them far into regionals and pushed them to their full abilities.

“I learned from Talich that football is the only sport in the world that has a strong and tight brotherhood. He inspired me to always put my family first because they are the ones who will always have your back no matter what. He brought our team closer together by giving us speeches throughout the season and always reminded us that we are family,” Chris Alvarez, junior, said.

He also brought back gender diversity onto the team. Female players Aubrey Madden and Izzy Schmidt, were both kickers on both JV and varsity teams.

“Being on a team full of guys is hard, not only was it a challenge to keep up with the boys’ workouts, but to prove myself as a reliable player. People expect that if a girl is on an all guys team, she’s babied and taken easy on, but that wasn’t the case at all. I had to set standards for the girls in sports and show them being a girl doesn’t mean I’m not strong. I was lucky to have an amazing team and coaching staff to push me and support me through everything in and out of the season. I can’t wait for next year,” Izzy Schmidt, sophomore, said.