MORENO VALLEY, CA – Nine days after his team was eliminated from the Southern Section Inland Division playoffs, Rancho Verde-Moreno Valley coach Jeff Steinberg was getting set for his next assignment.
He will coach a band of all-star players in a Riverside County vs. San Bernardino County showdown early next year.
The game is on Jan. 30 at Ramona-Riverside High School – two days before Super Bowl 50.
“It will be pretty tough to select players,” said Steinberg, who had to be thinking of a flood of great players from the likes of Centennial-Corona and Norco, or Vista Murrieta, Citrus Hill-Perris, Heritage-Romoland, not to mention an entire city of Riverside players.
Steinberg, who has had success dating back to his days at Burroughs-Ridgecrest (where the Burros won a Southern Section title in his final season, 2005) to Miller-Fontana (where the Rebels notched their lone Citrus Belt League championship) to Santiago-Corona.
“I had a great time coaching the Under-Armour All-Star (as receivers’ coach),” he said, referring to the Jan. 2, 2014 game in St. Petersburg, Fla.
Steinberg was part of a staff that included former New York Jets and Kansas City Chiefs head coach Herm Edwards. The rival coach was Steve Mariucci, the former quarterbacks coach at Green Bay that helped develop Brett Favre, later becoming head coach in San Francisco and Detroit.
Steinberg’s former Santiago quarterback, Blake Barnett, had committed to Alabama.
If that didn’t give him enough experience to coach Riverside’s all-stars, nothing would. Steinberg has well over 100 coaching victories, numerous league championships and a growing number of post-season wins.
Cajon-San Bernardino’s Nick Rogers will coach San Bernardino County.
“We’ll have a good roster,” said Steinberg.
And why shouldn’t he?
Centennial and Citrus Hill alone are a pair of state championship-level teams from which to choose.
Some of the criteria that Steinberg will be using is that players, seniors only, must be all-leaguers from their respective league, “most likely going to college,” he said.
Steinberg has already been holding meetings in preparation for the game.
Well aware that college-bound seniors might be risking their health, and future scholarship opportunities, Steinberg said, “It really depends on the colleges. Some schools don’t really want their players to participate in something like this.
“If it’s an all-star game in the summer, they really don’t want them to do it. This game’s in January, though. It’ll be all right. Most colleges want to see their guys doing it.”
If not for a double-overtime loss to Citrus Hill in an Inland Division semifinal, Steinberg and his Mustangs were
"56 seconds away,” from making the big dance.
“It feels good how close we are," he said.
It left him with an all-star assignment. It comes with a set of challenges – namely picking a team.
“Some coaches will be really happy with me,” he said.
“And some coaches will be really pissed.”
