Mike Ward is the pick as the new football coach at Leland High. Ward was an assistant coach last season with the Chargers.
Leland went 1-9 last season under interim coach Kyle Ansberry.
“I’m really excited – it’s my first head coaching position and I’m not looking to move on,” said Ward, 32. “I want to build the program. It has a good tradition and has the support of the administration and the faculty and students and community as a whole.”
Ward is from Baltimore and is a big Orioles’ baseball fan. He played high school football at Loyola Blakefield, a Catholic school. He also played soccer and football at Lycombing College in Williamsport, Pennsylvania.
Before assisting at Leland he assisted for four years at Coral Springs Charter in Florida, helping the program to go from a 3-7 record to 11-1.
Ward met his wife Kristi, a Pioneer High graduate, at grad school at the University of Miami and they decided to move to the Bay Area to be closer to his wife’s family and possibly start a family of their own. Kristi (maiden name Kimura) played basketball and tennis at Pioneer and was also on the track and field team.
Ward said he will fit his offense to the Charger personnel but that one possibility is to run a Pistol or shotgun formation with a West Coast Offense out of that.
The Chargers went 6-6 in 2014-2015 under coach Jake Shaughnessy. Shaughnessy is now an assistant coach at Burlingame.
Leland had its last winning season in 2013-2014 under Shaughnessy, going 7-4 overall, 5-2 in league.
Mike Carrozzo had a successful run as the Chargers' coach from 2007 through 2012, fielding high-scoring teams and going a combined 45-21 in six seasons
