PrepGridiron Posted January 28, 2019 Report Share Posted January 28, 2019 Hi Everyone, Coach Negro will be joining us today at 7PM EDT First, we'd like to welcome Coach Negro to Prepgridiron.com. Coach Negro is the head coach at St. John Bosco. A 1991 graduate of St. John Bosco, Coach Negro began his coaching career at St. John Bosco under Kiki Mendoza holding several positions on the defensive side of the ball. Coach Negro left SJB to go to Trabuco Hills where he was an assistant before becoming a head coach. Coach Negro was 52-33 at Trabuco Hills where he won several Sea View League championships. In 2010, Coach Negro was named the head coach of St. John Bosco where he has built a national power. After a 5-5 first season, Coach Negro has had eight consecutive winning seasons winning Open championships in both 2013 and 2016 and receiving a national championship nod in 2013. He has a record and 100-23 at St. John Bosco where his teams compete in the always difficult Trinity League and have consistently played out of state powers. In collaboration with PrepGridiron Logistics, coach has been kind enough to give us some of his time and answer several questions posed by the members of this board. As we have done in the past, we will be asking coach the questions and he will be responding in the thread. We will be asking coach five questions and expect to open up the floor to members. Feel free to respond and ask questions, note, however, that it will be at Coach's discretion whether he responds further. Lastly, we ask that you keep your responses civil and on topic. The thread will be heavily moderated so that we can encourage other coaches to come on in the future. Thanks again, Coach, and everyone enjoy. The first question will be asked at 7PM EDT 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coach Negro Posted January 29, 2019 Report Share Posted January 29, 2019 Good Evening HS Football Fans......Jason Negro here from St. John Bosco High School. 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PrepGridiron Posted January 29, 2019 Author Report Share Posted January 29, 2019 We will start! First question: What does the Trinity v. USA Showcase mean for your program and league? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coach Negro Posted January 29, 2019 Report Share Posted January 29, 2019 I think this National Showcase is a huge opportunity for our program and the other two members of the Trinity League to show the country the type of football that we play on the West Coast and most notably in California. This showcase will provide our program a platform for our players as well. They come to Bosco to compete against some of the best in the country and a showcase like this will allow them to do that. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PrepGridiron Posted January 29, 2019 Author Report Share Posted January 29, 2019 Just now, Coach Negro said: I think this National Showcase is a huge opportunity for our program and the other two members of the Trinity League to show the country the type of football that we play on the West Coast and most notably in California. This showcase will provide our program a platform for our players as well. They come to Bosco to compete against some of the best in the country and a showcase like this will allow them to do that. I know a lot of people are really excited for these games. So kudos to you for getting it done! Second question: Prior to your arrival, SJB was an unknown program on the national level, what do you see as the main factors for you ushering in this era of Bosco football? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coach Negro Posted January 29, 2019 Report Share Posted January 29, 2019 I am graduate of Bosco so first and foremost I wanted to come back to my Alma Mater to bring some credibility to our football program and to our amazing institution. I always had the belief that Bosco could be a "Gold Mine" in the high school football landscape if we could just change the culture as a whole. I believe that there are three factors that must work in harmony in order for a school to ascend as quickly as we have. You need to have a super supportive administration. Secondly, you need to have a really talented and able coaching staff. Finally, you have to have good football players who aspire to be great. I firmly think that an great program invests heavily in what I phrase "Human Capital". This basic belief is to surround yourself with the best people possible and let them do their jobs. This is the approach I have taken and we have executed it perfectly over the 9 years that I have been here. Along with this we are continuing to evolve as a program and this National Showcase is another example of that. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PrepGridiron Posted January 29, 2019 Author Report Share Posted January 29, 2019 Speaking of evolving as a program on a national scale, you have consistently played quality teams from out of state and have played teams from HI, OH, DC, FL and UT just to name a few. Question three is have you reconsidered playing a Texas program? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coach Negro Posted January 29, 2019 Report Share Posted January 29, 2019 Absolutely! We would to have the opportunity to play teams from Texas if the situation is best for both schools. There are a variety of factors that play into scheduling any game outside the state of California or even having teams come here to California to play us. As you have mentioned we have played all over the country and that is a very difficult thing to do for a school like our. We are not from a highly affluent area where money is no object so we have to rely on fundraising and donations or stipends given to us by host schools. Even with this it is difficult to schedule game. We have also had an open invite to anybody from Texas or any other state in the country to come and play us in California. And for reasons that I have listed above it is difficult for teams to travel out here. ESPN has been huge in helping us in the past however ESPN cannot help bring teams here to play us because we are locked in with Fox Sports and they will not help with travel stipends. For this reason we have to travel out of state which isn't easy on our high school athletes. Over the past 6 seasons we have played in 9 different states against some of the best teams in those states so I don't think that anybody can say that we don't challenge ourselves on a yearly basis. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PrepGridiron Posted January 29, 2019 Author Report Share Posted January 29, 2019 While you have done a great job of exposing your team to national level competition, I know there is a lot of talk about programs like yours and Mater Dei's having a detrimental effect on the local and national football landscape; what would you say to those critics? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coach Negro Posted January 29, 2019 Report Share Posted January 29, 2019 Well I'm certainly not going to make apologies for building a program like ours. I cannot speak for Mater Dei but I can say that I am very proud of what we have been able to accomplish here at Bosco and I am proud to say that we have built this program with integrity and hard work. Nine years ago we implemented a plan and we began to work on the execution of that plan and with some careful adjustments along the way we have been able to build our program into a national power and we provide the members of our football program with an experience like nobody else. I am extremely proud of this without question. Now I don't know if this is detrimental to the high school landscape. I do not feel that our success here at Bosco is hindering any other high school football program from doing the same thing and being as successful as ours. I think that we have a blueprint for being successful and we put in the work to make the dream become a reality. You asked about the national landscape? There isn't a doubt in my mind that we have helped make the national landscape more relevant. We have joined the party so to speak and the more teams that are able to do that will help grow the state of high school football exponentially. More programs like ours who become nationally relevant is good for the landscape in my personal opinion. 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PrepGridiron Posted January 29, 2019 Author Report Share Posted January 29, 2019 Very well said, Coach. I know you didn't speak for Mater Dei, but your team had two of the highly anticipated games with the program from Santa Ana. Last question: What do you feel was the biggest difference between the two MD games this year? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coach Negro Posted January 29, 2019 Report Share Posted January 29, 2019 You had to bring this up.......Ha ha! I have great respect for Coach Rollinson and the program over there at Mater Dei High School. He has done an amazing job during this 30 years at the helm and hopefully one day in my future I will have my program mentioned along with his as one of the best programs in the history of high school football in the country. Over the years we have played some epic football games against Mater Dei. This year was no different. I only wish we could have flipped the games outcomes, ha, ha. In the fist game we played a flawless game. We had a great game plan and executed it perfectly the entire 4 quarters. MD did't play particularly in some phases of the game. I think the script was flipped completely in the second game. We didn't play well at all and they played pretty flawlessly the entire night. That being said we were two very very good football teams and as anybody who knows anything about sports knows its highly difficult to beat a good team twice and I would classify them a a better than "good" team. I will say this, although we lost the game, I wouldn't have wanted it any other way. We were 13-0 and Ranked #1 in the country and playing #2 in the country for the right to play DeLaSalle in the State title game. I'd do this for the next 30 years given the opportunity. To be the best you have to beat the best and you cannot be afraid to be great. Beating teams like Mater Dei will make us great and that is our ultimate goal. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PrepGridiron Posted January 29, 2019 Author Report Share Posted January 29, 2019 Great stuff! Coach, thank you so much for your time. If you have some time to stick around and field questions from our members, we'd be appreciative. I also have one personal request: If you happen to meet DLS in the Open game in 2019, can you please not snuff out their trick plays and try and keep the TO differential in their favor? Much appreciated. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coach Negro Posted January 29, 2019 Report Share Posted January 29, 2019 I would love to hang a bit and answer some questions for the board. No problem there. In terms of your DLS request....I cannot promise anything. Those dudes are tough to stop so anytime you can make a play and properly defend one of those trick plays or win the turnover battle you take it! We are currently 2-0 against DeLaSalle and if we are lucky enough to see them in 2019 I'd like to make it 3-0. Coach Alumbaugh wouldn't like to hear that but I would love the chance to play those guys cause they are such an amazing program and coaching staff. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Columbiafan Posted January 29, 2019 Report Share Posted January 29, 2019 What was your thoughts on the ruling of the CIF banning the playing of teams like IMG Academy? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LiberalDonaldTrump Posted January 29, 2019 Report Share Posted January 29, 2019 Coach I know you got the scoop on who the new coach at Don Bosco prep will be care to spill the beans? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coach Negro Posted January 29, 2019 Report Share Posted January 29, 2019 I think its a good rule for teams like IMG. They are ruthless in their pursuit of taking players from other schools and they have no rules that govern them with this type of activity. We lost a really good player to them this year, Josh Delgado and they just swooped him up, paid for him to relocate there and that's not really something that most national programs can do. If they cannot even be recognized in their own state as a "regular high school" and allowed to play in their states high school playoff season then they should be allowed to play sanctioned games. That's just my opinion. 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coach Negro Posted January 29, 2019 Report Share Posted January 29, 2019 1 minute ago, LiberalDonaldTrump said: Coach I know you got the scoop on who the new coach at Don Bosco prep will be care to spill the beans? I know the scoop?!?!?! I really don't know. I am good friends with the Athletic Director over at Don Bosco, Brian McAleer, but I do not know if they have selected a new coach. I know the new coach is not ME! Its too cold in Jersey, I like living in SoCal by the Beach. 8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Columbiafan Posted January 29, 2019 Report Share Posted January 29, 2019 During the 2017 season you all traveled to play STA and lost while they eventually struggled and dropping 3 games while you all finished top 10 in nation by end of the season Could we see SJB make a trip back to FL down the line and if so is there any team you may be interested in taking on down the line from FL? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PrepGridiron Posted January 29, 2019 Author Report Share Posted January 29, 2019 Coach, I know we've hit the hour mark. We are on your time, so you let us know. I have another question: How do you think your 2019 squad is shaping up? Will it be one of the best you've had? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coach Negro Posted January 29, 2019 Report Share Posted January 29, 2019 We loved the time in Florida and playing STA was a great experience for our kids and our fan base. That game went to overtime and we lost 9-3. We missed three FG's in regulation and were terrible in the redzone. We have five trips down there and came up with a measly 3 pts. The other two losses were tight ball games to MD. We lost 31-21 in the league matchup and sometime like 42-28 in the CIF Finals. That MD team was remarkable and they weren't going to be losing to anybody that year. I wouldn't say that is too bad for a young team like ours that year. We graduated a lot off of the 2016 State Championship team so I was proud how played. We also played St. John's College in DC that year and beat them in DC. They too were highly ranked nationally and I think we earned a lot of respect nationally playing in Florida and in D.C. that year and having to play MD twice. Not too many teams have had to do that in one year. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coach Negro Posted January 29, 2019 Report Share Posted January 29, 2019 I'm good for a little bit longer...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ararar Posted January 29, 2019 Report Share Posted January 29, 2019 Coach have you been approached to move on to the next level of coaching? Would you ever consider doing so? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Columbiafan Posted January 29, 2019 Report Share Posted January 29, 2019 2 minutes ago, Coach Negro said: We loved the time in Florida and playing STA was a great experience for our kids and our fan base. That game went to overtime and we lost 9-3. We missed three FG's in regulation and were terrible in the redzone. We have five trips down there and came up with a measly 3 pts. The other two losses were tight ball games to MD. We lost 31-21 in the league matchup and sometime like 42-28 in the CIF Finals. That MD team was remarkable and they weren't going to be losing to anybody that year. I wouldn't say that is too bad for a young team like ours that year. We graduated a lot off of the 2016 State Championship team so I was proud how played. We also played St. John's College in DC that year and beat them in DC. They too were highly ranked nationally and I think we earned a lot of respect nationally playing in Florida and in D.C. that year and having to play MD twice. Not too many teams have had to do that in one year. You all definitely have no problem stepping up to a challenge, I hope to see you all play another FL game soon It's always nice to see one of top FL schools take on one of top CA schools Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coach Negro Posted January 29, 2019 Report Share Posted January 29, 2019 I think that our 2019 team is going to be a really good football team. I am not sure about he best ever here at Bosco because they have yet to prove anything. There is a long time before they can stake that claim. I know we have the opportunity to be really special but it is a long time between now and December. Not to mention a lot of quality football teams in our way. To with this whole thing we will have to focused and not lose sight of the overall goal and that is to win each phase of our season. We need to win the non-league, win the league, win CIF and finally defeat DeLaSalle in the State game. Not an easy task for any team. I can promise this, we are hungry and we will be prepared and I trust and believe in my leaders returning. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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