PREP FOOTBALL:

New Coronado football coach optimistic about program’s future

Richard Brian

New Coronado football coach Todd Stratton talks with returning players Friday. Stratton, formerly an assistant at Basic, urged the athletes to make a commitment to getting stronger in the weight room.

By Ray Brewer (contact)

Friday, April 24, 2009 | 4:40 p.m.

Todd Stratton knows coaching Coronado’s football team will be full of challenges.

Hired Friday as the Cougars’ third coach in three years, the former Basic assistant said his first responsibility will be gaining the trust of his players.

Stratton replaces John Mannion, who resigned two weeks ago during a Clark County School District Police investigation into missing funds from the program. Mannion was only on the job for 11 months.

“The No. 1 thing for me is building that trust,” said Stratton, whose two children attend Coronado. “Obviously, with all of the turmoil here, I need to be someone the kids can trust.”

Stratton’s second task will be getting players to become dedicated to training in the weight room. Stratton spoke to a group of about 50 returning players after school Friday, preaching from start to finish the importance of weight training.

He pointed to programs at Palo Verde, Las Vegas High and Basic — all of which won their league last year — as models for success.

“I can’t wait to get started,” he told the group. “I can’t wait to win a state championship. But it is going to take a lot of hard work to get there. We are going to take one step at a time.”

Stratton has eight years of college coaching experience. He was a graduate assistant at UNLV, the quarterbacks coach at Southern Utah and the offensive coordinator at Cypress Junior College.

He said he will run a spread offense similar to Basic’s — an announcement the players, who were stoic through much of the meeting, greeted with cheers and smiles.

“I know what they are doing at Basic, Palo Verde and Las Vegas. They are working their tails off,” Stratton said. “We are going to have to work hard to be an elite program. I didn’t come here to finish .500. I came here to win state championships.”

That optimism was shared by Coronado’s administrators. Sam Johnson, the assistant principal in charge of athletics, introduced Stratton to the group.

“We are starting a new beginning in our football program,” Johnson told them. “We are looking to start with a positive attitude. Everyone needs to roll up their sleeves and be ready to work.”

Stratton would have been an assistant at Basic in the fall, working in his brother-in-law’s program. Stratton is married to Basic coach Jeff Cahill’s sister, Lori. Cahill’s father, Dan, is a longtime Basic assistant.

“He is very knowledgeable and very businesslike,” Dan Cahill said. “He knows what he is doing. It will definitely create a hole on our staff.”

Ray Brewer can be reached at 990-2662 or ray.brewer@lasvegassun.com.