It was all set. John Boitano was ready to retire.
The head coach of the Arlington High School football team planned to call it quits this year, his 31st as a teacher and his 14th at Arlington.
But the more the 52-year-old thought about next fall, the more he realized how crazy it would be to walk away from one last ride.
Arlington returns a slew of key contributors from last year’s team that tied for second place in the Western Conference North Division and finished with a 7-3 overall record. It was a remarkable turnaround from the previous two seasons, when the Eagles won just four total games.
With plenty to look forward to, Boitano decided to return for one more year. He will retire from Arlington in January 2006, at the end of the football season.
“There’s a real excitement for next year,” Boitano said. “It was really a no-brainer.”
His Eagles are motivated to rise even higher.
“We had a good year,” Boitano said, “but they all kind of have a bitter taste in their mouth that it should have been better.”
The coach has led Arlington to 10 winning seasons and five playoff appearances. He came to the school in 1991, working one year as an assistant before taking the head coaching job in 1992.
After struggling that first year, Boitano said his team broke through in 1993 when it defeated Shorecrest, the defending conference champion, in overtime. That victory set the tone for what he said has become Arlington’s motto: “We can beat anybody on any given day.”
Boitano, who played prep football for his father at Garfield High and played two years as a wide receiver at the University of Washington, cited a core of reliable, long-time assistant coaches who have been invaluable to him. They include Jim Smoots, Dan O’Malley, Jamie Wilson and Bret DeBerry.
“We have had fun,” Boitano said.
“You couldn’t write a wish list and get everything I’ve got,” he continued, noting that he feels fortunate to have had the chance to coach all three of his sons Johnny, Jason and Joseph at Arlington.
Boitano said he might move next year to Ellensburg, where he coached for 16 years before coming to Arlington and where he still owns a 22-acre farm. All three of his sons currently live in Ellensburg.
Wherever Boitano ends up, he said he plans to work as a house builder and to devote time to his favorite hobby: car racing.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
