Falcons name new coach

Brandon Asher was named the new head coach of the River Valley high football team after the Yuba City Unified School District approved his hiring on Tuesday.

And now that the "long process" is over, the rookie head coach is ready to get busy, because there is no "two-three year plan" to rebuild the Falcons, he said.

His goal is to make River Valley — a 3-7 team in 2008 — competitive next season.

"Our No. 1 goal is to get the kids to buy into us," he said. "They are going to win if they trust us."

But Asher also has long term goals that he wants to accomplish during his tenure leading the program, which is just in its fourth season of fielding a varsity-level team.

"We need to bring stability and tradition to this school," he said.

Another goal Asher hopes to achieve is aligning the Junior Falcons program with the High school's, he said. Asher, who will also be the junior midget coach next season, wants to implement the same offensive and defensive schemes the high school will use with younger players. It is a similar tactic employed by the Sutter High football team, which instills the basics of its vaunted wing-T offense in the Junior Husky programs.

Asher is replacing former Falcon head coach Troy Alexander, who resigned after compiling a 9-11 record during two seasons with the program.

"I think Troy did a good job with the Xs and Os," River Valley Athletic Director Tom Zaragoza said. "Brandon is going to work well with all aspects aside from the Xs and Os."

Although Asher has never been the head coach of a varsity-level program, he does have coaching experience, which includes being the defensive coordinator for the Falcons freshman team that went 9-1 two seasons ago. Asher has also been the defensive coordinator for the Marysville High varsity team (2005-2006) and was the head JV coach for the 2003-2004 season.