Sports Zone

Billies strike quickly with football hire

PLEASANT HILL – Pleasant Hill athletic director Kyle McClain confirmed on Jan. 24 that the Billies “have their guy” and have hired Kenny Koberstein from South Eugene as the new head football coach for the Billies. 

“Koberstein brings a wealth of experience, passion, and a proven track record of success that will greatly benefit our program,” McClain said on Friday. “Koberstein is hitting the ground running and is already hard at work assembling his coaching staff. We are excited to see the positive impact his leadership will have on our players, both as athletes, students, and young leaders in our community.”

Koberstein began coaching in 2007. He was the offensive coordinator at Molalla from 2007-10. Then, he was head coach at Class 2A Myrtle Point in 2011. From there, he gained offensive coordinator experience at McKay from 2012-14. He was an offensive coordinator at 5A South Albany from 2014-15 where he helped the Redhawks win their second league championship. In 2017-18 he was the associate head coach and offensive coordinator at Harrisburg. He helped the Eagles win the Mountain Valley Conference 2018 title and reach the playoffs twice. 

Koberstein’s main head coaching experience is from two stints: 2A Myrtle Point in ’11 and 6A South Eugene in ’19, when he helped the Axe achieve only their second winning season since 2009. His total coaching record is 5-13-0.

Koberstein called his style “running the ball” and “setting up the shots.” He emphasized the need for aggressive personnel and tackling to strengthen the team’s defense.

“Offensively, we believe in being able to run the ball effectively to set up our shots down the field,” Koberstein said. “More than anything else, though, we want the ball in the hands of our playmakers. Getting them touches is paramount. Defensively, everything is built around tackling and being aggressive. We want our guys to play fast, play loose, and fly to the ball.” He stressed that the main focus is “building a culture.”

“We like a lot of what we saw on film from last year and there’s a lot we can build off of, but for the time being it’s all about laying the foundation of our culture,” Koberstein said. Koberstein coached at 3A Harrisburg. He said his new coaching staff is well-versed in Class 3A football.

“Our staff has won conference championships at the 3A level; we’ve made a deep playoff run there, and we feel confident in our understanding of this level of ball and how to be successful,” he said.

Meanwhile, Creswell athletic director Brandon Standridge said he hopes to begin interviews for their football vacancy in the middle of February.

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