Though David Faaeteete is Hermiston's new head football coach, the vision set forth by his predecessor, Mark Hodges, is still the program's vision, Faaeteete said.

David Faaeteete strolled from one end of the turf field at Kennison Stadium to the other. On the fourth day of fall practice under a hot sun, the first-year coach wasn’t focused solely on the linemen and their position drills as he had been for seven season under departed head coach Mark Hodges.

Now the University of Oregon alumnus is the head coach of Hermiston’s football program following the best season in school history. The Bulldogs went 12-1 last year and capped the historic run with a 34-12 waltz over the Silverton Foxes in the 5A state championship game in November.

“I got a taste of (head coaching) during spring ball,” Faaeteete said, “going to Tri-Cities and whatnot. It was easy to plan a practice in the spring then go scrimmage. But fall camp is a whole different animal.”

Faaeteete got a taste of that last week. He had to hand out gear, assign lockers, get new guys situated. It added yet another element to head coaching that he’s had to learn since taking the vacant job in May. He’s already ordered new helmets and new practice jerseys. But now, the fun starts. Now he gets to coach football.

“The football aspect of it’s the same,” he said. “It’s fun coaching. It’s just that there’s a managing piece to it that I’m adjusting to. We’ve got veteran coaches to help out. One of the big things that Coach Hodges taught me was you gotta delegate responsibilities so you don’t feel overwhelmed. And I think I’ve done a good job of that.”

At practice, Faaeteete is a nomad. He peeks in on receiver drills at midfield, then wanders over to the lineman in the southeast corner and gives pointers there. But he rarely runs a drill. Ordinarily he lets Bradis McGriff, coach the lineman, or Scott Hammond, coach the defensive backs, handle the drills. He’s taken the delegation seriously.

“That’s a state championship coaching staff,” he said. “I mean, coaches don’t win games; players do. But we gotta put guys in the best possible positions to make plays. (The staff) knows what they’re doing. They know their craft. It’s about getting better. If I don’t let them coach the way they coach and motivate the kids, then I’ll come off like I’m micro-managing my team. And you don’t get any happy people.”

Senior wide receiver Ethan Snow, just one of four returning starters from last year’s state championship squad, said Faaeteete hasn’t changed, on the surface at least.

“He’s a lot of the same coach, but he has a lot of responsibilities off the field,” he said. “To me, he’s looked really like the same coach. He’s just stepping up a bit.”

After a team defense session ended last Thursday, Hermiston’s running back group stayed in the middle of the field with Faaeteete. A defensivee player and coach by trade, his new role has forced him to coach other aspects of the game, as well.

He set up cones for the backs and had them practice jump cutting to their left and right. After a few repetitions — or reps — Faaeteete wasn’t satisfied with the effort and demonstrated what he wanted to see. His feet were still quick, a remnant of his Division I football career, and he tossed a ball to the next back and had him go. The reps were better after the demonstration.

“I think he’s taking this program in a really good direction,” senior lineman Trey Neal said. “Workouts have been a little more intense, but other than that I think we’ve had a really good atmosphere, a family atmosphere.”

Faaeteete is the new face of Hermiston’s football program, but he said the program’s vision hasn’t changed.

“I took this head coaching job knowing the vision that Mark had set up for what he wanted to set up for Hermiston,” he said. “It’s the same vision, it’s just a different person carrying it on, passing the torch. Everyone on the team is on board with the vision, so we know where we want to go and what it takes to get there.”