Steve Belles

Affiliation: Hamilton High School head coach, 2006-present.

Interview date: Oct. 19, 2016.

FA: I’m with Steve Belles, the head coach at Hamilton High School.

Obviously you had a pretty impressive coaching resume to your name already before you took this job. What made it so appealing to you when John Wrenn stepped away?

SB: I think there’s a lot of things that went into it. There was a great winning tradition early at Hamilton. It was a program that was up and coming. They had an administration that was willing to not only back academics but athletics as well. It seemed like a good fit from the outside, and when you get here and you meet Dr. [Fred] DePrez, you found out that he didn’t just want to win in sports. He wanted to win in everything. If it was a checkers match, he wanted to win. I liked that it was about competing at whatever we did here at the school. Being very competitive myself, if I was lucky enough to get the job, which I was, I really dove in headfirst as it would be.

FA: You had faced Hamilton in the state championship before, so from the outside looking in what did you know and notice about the program?

SB: [When I got hired,] it wasn’t so much difficult to step in as the fact of, ‘Let’s see if there is an opportunity.’ It was more about if I’m a fit for Hamilton rather than vice versa. It winded up that the interview process was in the room next door [to the conference room at Hamilton High School], actually. It always seemed like a program that, no matter what, like I said from the outside it seemed like they have everything going in the right direction. When you got here, you knew it was. All of that was the leadership of not just Dr. [Fred] DePrez but Camile Casteel. Everybody up there [at the district], they kind of transformed and brought up the level of athletics of the whole state of Arizona. I think it’s really been a positive for that, because other schools, now there’s a lot more competitive balance than when I took over here. I think a lot of that’s due to the leadership of Camile. That’s what I saw from the outside looking in.

FA: Did that play a role in why you kept a bunch of those guys on staff?

SB: Well, high school’s a little different than a college. When it’s a college program, you kind of bring in your own guys. When it’s a high school program, you want to take advantage of the coaches you have here that is a fit for you. What’s kind of interesting with coach [Deke] Schutes is I don’t think he understood that when I came in, I liked a lot of what Hamilton was doing offensively and we blended a lot of what I had done at Mountain Ridge High School with the Hamilton offense. That first year, he coached [junior varsity] and that’s where he kind of wanted to be. I think he realized that I was trying to blend both offenses together and he came up the next year. The following year, we decided we were going to do the offense together, so it was a process of getting to know guys. In terms of the guys here, the guys on the staff were quality coaches as well. It wasn’t like I was taking a risk or anything like that. These guys were good coaches, and if you’re doing things right as a coach, you’re going to keep good people on staff. Now, there were some who didn’t fit in and went elsewhere, but for the majority, the guys who are on campus here stayed and are still here.

FA: What was it about Hamilton’s offense that stood out to you?

SB: I think it really balances teams out. You have to play disciplined football when you’re playing against Hamilton. [Veer and option] is just a small part of what we do. There’s a culture at Hamilton and I think people perceive us to be an option team, and we only run it three, four times, five times a game, but when we do it, it makes you play balanced football. We’re kind of that [multiple] offense, but it’s been an effective offense. Each year, we’re averaging 40 points a game. It was something where, if it isn’t broken, we’re not going to start breaking it and breaking it down. Now, we’re always looking for new ideas, but the heart and soul of where Hamilton football is is smash mouth football. When it comes down to it, if you can’t do that, you’re not going to win a state championship.

FA: How helpful is it to have guys like Tyler Johnstone and Christian Westerman on those offensive lines when you’re trying to do that?

SB: It’s huge. If you don’t have a line, offensively and defensively, you’re going to suffer down the road against real physical teams. I think we have faced that a little bit this year in terms of I wouldn’t say being mentally prepared but going against the most physical team we have faced. This year it was Desert Ridge, and we didn’t step up to that challenge this year. I think it’s a growing process since we’re so young this year, but I think that’s something that will help us in the postseason. We know mentally and physically how to get prepared to play quality, physical teams.

FA: Your playing days took you to Notre Dame. How did that experience shape your coaching career?

SB: Well, I give a lot of credit to Lou Holtz in terms of the psychology of coaching. Just mentally getting teams ready to play. He was just a master at that. With every team, it didn’t matter if we were playing Navy or the University of Miami, the thing was that they were the best team regardless. He never took anybody for granted, and I think that as a coach, I’m always worried about who we’re playing. There’s always something that worries me about a team, and I think that’s a good quality because if you just feel like, we’re going to go and blow this team out, I think when that team plays well and you’re playing a ‘C’ game, you’re able to still go win those games, but [it’s not good]. We’ve kind of faced that this year, where I don’t think we were mentally ready when we played Brophy. That was a team, I think, we were better than, and we played a ‘D’ game and they played an ‘A’ game and we didn’t respond. I take responsibility for not getting the guys ready. There are things you look back on and think, ‘What could I have done different?’ but I think mentally, for the most part, Lou Holtz really prepared me to get teams psychologically prepared to play in the games. That means visualizing good things that kids are going to do in a game, and giving that positive outlook.

FA: How have you been able to increase the national profile of Hamilton’s program, and what role have games like the one you played in Ireland played a role in that?

SB: [Ireland] was big. That was one of our worst offensive games we’ve played at Hamilton, excluding the Brophy game this year. I think at the national level, we have played the Masslands, the Booker T. Washingtons, the Bishop Gormans, but you have to be careful in playing those games, too. You have to make sure that you’re prepared and have a team qualified [to win]. I think this year was kind of getting back because our state has become better in football, and sometimes it’s better just to stay in state because of the quality of opponents we have here now compared to when I took over in 2006. High school football is leaps and bounds better than it was in 2006 in Arizona, not just at our level but even in the lower divisions they’re very good. You don’t have to go far, you don’t have to go out of state but it’s always good to go out of state and compete with some other programs. We’re going to start getting back to that in a little bit.

FA: Obviously with a 53-game win streak, you set yourselves apart from other programs. How do you think you guys were perceived?

SB: I can’t really speak on how people perceive us with the except of talking to [Mountain Pointe coach] Norris Vaughn or Jeremy Hathcock at Desert Ridge, but I think they perceive us to be a good, disciplined, physical team that you know is going to bring our lunch every time we play. I think that’s the biggest thing. You want respect, but you’ve got to go out there and earn it every week. It’s not just going to come because you have Hamilton written on your shirt.

FA: When you’re in a streak like that, how hard is it to keep the guys focused?

SB: I think, with those teams, when we had that streak going from 2008 to I think 2010 or 2011 when we wound up losing the state championship to [Desert] Vista to break the streak. I don’t think the streak was something we ever really talked about. I think those teams went out on the field expecting to win, and they were prepared to win. I don’t think the streak was that big of a deal in terms of when we were going through it, because it’s not something we ever really talked about. Looking back on it, it’s pretty remarkable now, because it’s so hard to do at the highest level. It’s a lot tougher than people think. But in terms of worry about it, we just took it one game at a time and that was our approach to it. I had never been in that situation. I had started a streak when we were at St. Mary’s High School and we had won nine and then they ended up with 29, which was kind of a big deal back then, but 53 games, I don’t think anybody envisioned us doing that. That was a 13–1 team the first year, then 14–0 and a 15–0 team. It was quite remarkable, the streak going on at that time and then a few more the next year when we went 13–1 and eventually lost in the state championship. I think Kendyl Taylor went 49–1 his four years at Hamilton. I don’t know if anybody will have that type of [career], going from his freshman year and he started as a sophomore for us to his senior year. 49–1 is pretty remarkable.

FA: Why do you think kids get recruited so well from Hamilton?

SB: I think it’s a destination program, where the colleges are going to come in and look at what we have and go from there because of what we have produced in the past and the hard work the kids have put into it. This year is no exception with Chance Brewington, CJ Jarmon and Tyler Alexander. We have some great kids. If you work hard, great things happen. If you don’t work hard, then good things aren’t going to happen. I think that’s the philosophy around here, too. We’re going to work hard for what we get.

FA: How big has open enrollment to getting that talent base.

SB: It’s huge. I think the open enrollment comes down to, you want your place to be a destination place. You want your kids to want to come here from outside your attendance zone. It’s not only good for the district, but it’s good for the football programs. If you don’t have those, you’re never going to be one of the elite programs. But you want them as freshmen. I think, if you get them as freshmen, it’s a lot different than getting a transfer who’s a junior, because they’re engrossed in your culture and that’s a big deal, as well.

FA: When you first got the job at Hamilton, how much did you know about the rivalry?

SB: I knew a lot about it, actually, and there’s no question about it. It’s kind of like the Ohio State-Michigan game in terms of the amount of emphasis that goes into that game and how big it is. Some people say, ‘Oh, it’s just another game.’ Well, it’s a little bigger than another game, usually it’ll come down to the region championship. Playoff seeding comes down to that last game, and it’s good that it’s the last game of the year. I didn’t ever like it when it was the sixth game of the year where they put it right in the meat of our schedule. I think the last game kind of set the tone for the playoffs. Win or lose, you knew playing Chandler was going to be a dogfight and you were going to have to bring your lunch for that game. It’s probably the biggest game in Arizona in terms of a rivalry that we have in this state right now. It reminded me of the days of St. Mary’s and Brophy in the 90s when they were playing each other and you’d have 12,000 people at the game. That’s kind of what’s expected when we play Chandler.

FA: How does playing an opponent you know so well make the rivalry unique?

SB: It’s not so much difficult as making sure you have the kids focused for that week and knowing what they have to do, because it really comes down to one or two plays that make a difference in that game. It’s happened the last three or four years and Chandler’s been on the right end of it and made the plays when they had to.

FA: When the streak was still going, how much did you know about it or how much was it known?

SB: We didn’t talk about it too much. It’s that game at that time. It was a big deal, I think, to the community more than it was to the players playing. They just knew we had Chandler this week and let’s get after them.

FA: How did the way some of the games ended impact the profile of the rivalry?

SB: I just think it was the belief we were going to win, no matter what the score was. I think it’s kind of been that way. Last year was a case where we had a field goal that we intentionally kicked out of bounds and went to the 5-yard line and thought we were in good shape with five minutes to go. They hit a little seam route and the guy goes 88 yards and that was the difference of the game in terms of making plays and not making plays. Those are what makes a difference in these types of games. In terms of the Kyren Poe thing, we’re down 24–10 and I remember they had just scored a touchdown but it for called back because of a holding call and it changed the complexity of that game. That was played [at Hamilton], and we ended up rallying and scoring two touchdowns in the last seven minutes or so. It was crazy. Those kids really believed that we were going to win. We just didn’t have much offense going. It seemed like every time we’d have something, it would sputter and the next thing you know the fourth quarter comes and it’s like, ‘OK, let’s figure this out’ and they did. We found a way to win.

FA: How do memorable games like that help the rivalry?

SB: I just think, right now it’s kind of swayed in Chandler’s favor so we’ve got to find a way to balance that back out so we could get things back in my favor. Chandler’s not in the situation where it’s ‘Here we go again.’ They believe that they have an opportunity just as much as we do at this point in the rivalry.

FA: What do you remember about the night Chandler finally did beat you guys?

SB: I just remembered that there was a lot of celebrating on their side and not much on our side. That catch in the end zone — their last touchdown was we threw it and we got a pick — but their touchdown that sealed the deal for them was a great play by a really good receiver [Dionte Sykes]. It kind of took the gorilla off their back, as it would be and kind of set them where they are right now. Right now it’s in their favor, but we’ve got to fight to get that back.

FA: How rare is it to find two programs this good being so close to each other?

SB: I think it’s rare. It’s kind of rare air, as it would be. I think you have two schools less than five miles apart that have been nationally ranked together at times, that don’t particularly like each other for that week. Coach [Shaun] Aguano and I are pretty good friends, but during that week we don’t really talk that much. We have some well wishes, but other than that it’s just about getting your team ready to play and coming out on top after 48 minutes.

FA: Where do you see the rivalry going from here?

SB: Well my first year here, it was kind of unique. Like I said, I knew about it, but coaching my own program at the time, I never knew the magnitude of it until you’re actually in it. That game was on ESPN2 I think, my first year in 2006 when Jim Ewan was the coach at Chandler. I think it might have been 14,000 people, started at a 6 o’clock start time on a Friday night and that atmosphere was unbelievable at Chandler that night. We somehow came out on top, and it was kind of weird. We were both in the semfinals and [Hamilton] was playing Basha and Chandler was playing Mountain View, and I thought for sure we would meet again in the finals and Mountain View beat them like 22–5 and we ended up playing Mountain View. If I was a betting man, and I would have put my money that Chandler would have won that game and we would have played each other in the finals that year. It’s one of those things where we’ve played each other in the finals, we’ve played each other in the semifinals many of times, and we’ve been in dogfights, too.

FA: What’s the atmosphere like in a game like that, and how does that compare to other high school games you’ve coached in?

SB: The only thing I can compare it to as a head coach is when I was at Mountain Ridge and we played Peoria. That was an up and coming rivalry, where it isn’t now because they’re in two different divisions and then it kind of lost its luster. That, and then the St. Mary’s-Brophy rivalry would be the only thing I could compare it to. Probably more so the St. Mary’s-Brophy rivalry because in the 90s, the teams were both really good kind of like the Chandler-Hamilton series. Those would be two examples of maybe closeness to it, but the Hamilton-Chandler rivalry is by far the best rivalry in the state right now.

FA: How unique is that to have that many people at a high school game.

SB: It’s unusual because you’ll have kids that go to other high schools and playing, some of their parents will even come to the Hamilton-Chandler game and not even watch their own kid. That’s how big the rivalry is. If people have the opportunity to come see it, I think it’s something they want to come back to year in and year out because the games are so intense.