By MILOS BLAGOJEVIC Special to The Daily Press
SAMOHI — To say new Santa Monica High School football coach Zach Cuda has big shoes to fill may be an understatement of epic proportions.
Cuda, 28, has replaced Michael Burnett, who led the Vikings to consecutive playoff experiences in the final two years of his three-year stint at the helm of Samohi football.
Before Burnett, there was Norm Lacy, currently the interim athletic director at Samohi, who led the Vikings to a 27-9 record and a CIF Division 10 championship in his three seasons as head coach.
And before Lacy there was Tebb Kusserow, yet another legendary coach in the ranks of the blue and gold, who won six CIF titles in his 12 years of coaching.
“With this school, the standards have been set for 30 years,” said Cuda,who was named head coach in early May before the beginning of spring practice.“There’s a lot of expectations. It’s certainly an honor to follow in line with that lineage. I just hope to keep things going the way they’ve been going.”
“There’s a lot of expectations. It’s certainly an honor to follow in line with that lineage. I just hope to keep things going the way they’ve been going.”
But nearly two months after getting a promotion — Cuda was on Burnett’s coaching staff the last three years — the Portland, Ore. native said he’s transitioned into the job well.
“It’s just a lot more work, a lot more administrative stuff,” Cuda said. “As far as the transition it’s been really smooth. I coached under coach Burnett for three years, and that was a big part of me getting the job, the continuity, keeping things going the direction they were going.
“All things considered, I think it’s about as simple as a transition could be.”
And perhaps the tools Cuda has to work with will make the transition even smoother come football season.
The Vikings return nearly half their starters on both sides of the ball with second team all-Ocean League junior quarterback Ryan Katz running the offense and senior safety Cameron Collins, an All-CIF selection last season, spearheading the defense. Collins, who is receiving full scholarship offers from several major universities, also is expected to contribute extensively on offense as a wide receiver.
However, Cuda might be without the services of first team all-league tailback Lewis Adeyemi, who was injured in a car accident this past spring. In his place, second team all-league junior tailback E.J. Wood is expected to start the season, while Cuda hopes to get Adeyemi back at some point during the year.
For Cuda, the players and talent he has make not only the transition to a varsity head coach easier, but also the game plan and strategy, especially on the offensive side of the ball.
“Offensively, we’re going to continue to be an I-back team,” said Cuda, whose twin brother Conrad is an assistant on his coaching staff. “We’re going to try and be pretty balanced, but with Ryan (Katz) it opens up a lot of what we can do with the passing game.
“Still predominantly, we’re going to be an I-back run team and run play action off of that. You can spread teams out a bit with Ryan back there too.”
But before Cuda can taste head coaching under the bright Friday night lights at Corsair Field, he’s been preparing his team for the fall with the allowed 15 days of spring practice drills in May, summer workouts — primarily weightlifting and conditioning — and passing league games.
“People have been showing up,” Collins said.“We’ve been lifting more weights, getting faster and getting stronger. We’ve been getting more intelligent. This summer has been the best since I’ve been here.”
Added Katz: “This is definitely the best summer that we’ve had. The numbers are increasing more and more each year. I think that’s because we’ve been improving over the seasons, and that’s really changed our program.”
But sometimes the best strategy is little or no change at all, evidenced by the ringing endorsement Collins gave the young head coach and economics teacher.
“He’s been in the program and he knows what our program is all about — our offense and our defense,” Collins said. “He didn’t really want to change much.
“He kind of fit the mold of what we were looking for in a head coach.”
The Vikings’ first game of the season is scheduled for Sept. 8 against Hueneme High School while their first at-home game is against Pacific Palisades at Corsair Field on Sept. 15.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on July 12, 2006. Read the original PDF.