Heritage football assistant Contreras named head coach

By Doug Spoon, Editor Adam Contreras, an assistant coach to Heritage High School varsity football coach Kraig Broach the last six seaso...


By Doug Spoon, Editor

Adam Contreras, an assistant coach to Heritage High School varsity football coach Kraig Broach the last six seasons, has been named Broach’s successor as head coach of the Patriots.

The announcement was made on the Heritage High football Twitter page this afternoon and confirmed by Grant Bennett, superintendent of the Perris Union High School District.

“Adam has been a part of the program and I am convinced he will do a great job,” Bennett said. “I felt it was very important to hire someone who is capable of continuing the winning legacy of the program that coach Broach has established.”

Contreras, 35, is an algebra teacher at the school and has a college degree in finance – a profession in which he worked for a few years before deciding to get into teaching and coaching. A former football player at Palomar College and Pittsburg State in Kansas, Contreras applied for a position at Heritage High after a chance meeting with Broach.

That meeting was a reunion of sorts. Contreras had played for Broach at Valley Center High School. Once he rejoined Broach at Heritage, Contreras progressed quickly, said Broach, coaching the defensive backs, then the offensive line, serving as JV head coach, then taking over the defensive coordinator duties three years ago when Tom Tello left to become head coach at Paloma Valley.

“I looked at myself as a position coach, but every year, coach gave me more responsibility,” Contreras said about Broach. “He jokingly said one time, ‘You’ll take my job one day.’ I thought, ‘Yeah, you’ll be here until you’re 80.’ “

Contreras said he had no idea Broach was serious about resigning as the Patriots’ coach before the announcement was made the first week of March. He said when he spoke to Broach afterward, Broach said, “Yes, I’m stepping down; you’re up.”

Yet even though Broach said he gave a positive recommendation to Bennett about Contreras, the promotion was something Contreras had earned with his performance the last six years.

“Adam got this on his own accord,” Broach said. “If he applied to several other schools for head coaching jobs, he’d be on the top of everyone’s list.

“I saw early on how quickly he won people over at Heritage. There’s just an energy about him. I knew right away he knew the game, but how he dealt with the players was a big factor. They just gravitated to him.”

Contreras said he is committed to continuing that strong relationship with the players – something he learned from Broach. The only head coach Heritage has ever had, Broach compiled a 117-31 record in 12 seasons, with the Patriots going undefeated in league play for eight years, appearing in the CIF finals three times and winning one title.

“The tradition here is so rich,” Contreras said. “The biggest thing is coach’s relationship with the players, with his former players, with all the alumni. They absolutely love him. and he’s so supportive of what they do.”

Contreras said he received congratulatory messages from several former players today, which he said “shows the legacy Broach built.”

Tello said he witnessed Contreras’ leadership abilities when he worked alongside him as one of Broach’s assistants.

“His hiring makes a lot of sense,” Tello said. “He coached a lot of positions and he brings a lot of energy to the job. The kids like him and they play hard for him.”

Contreras said the toughest thing about the job now is waiting at home to learn when the government’s stay at home order will be lifted. Spring practice is only a couple weeks away, but the status of that event – as well as summer passing leagues and other preparations for the fall season – remains uncertain.

“I just hope everyone follows the stay at home order,” Contreras said. “All I can do now is keep in touch with the players, give workout tips and things like that. Many of the upcoming seniors have told me, ‘We’re ready, we’re working out on our own and we’ll be ready to go.”




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