After leading St. Monica football team to an 8-3 record last season, head coach Larry Muno has assumed the same responsibilities at St. Bernard High School on a full-time basis.
The decision to join St. Bernard was spurred by what Muno perceived as “a better opportunity,” he said. In addition to better facilities at St. Bernard – including the field where St. Monica plays its home games – Muno went with St. Bernard because the position was full-time, he said.
During St. Monica’s 2010 football season, Muno worked as firefighter in the city of Vernon and for the Catholic Youth Organization, where he functioned as an athletic director for 170 parochial schools.
“I was doing that and [CYO officials] came to me mid-season expecting that I would quit coaching,” he said. “I quit that job to continue at St. Monica thinking St. Monica would give me a full-time job.”
When that didn’t pan out, Muno sought employment elsewhere and was hired at St. Bernard. He started Jan. 10 and will work under contract, the details for which are still being finalized, he said. He hopes to instill the same regime at the school that led to St. Monica’s on-the-field success.
“If you’re not going to change the culture, you are not going to have a complete buy-in,” Muno said. “It’s more that just coaching. It’s the off-season conditioning, the dialogue with parents. People don’t understand that in order to be successful in high school football it’s an 80-hour [per week] job. During the off-season it’s a 40-hour a week job.”
Although they may play their home games on the same turf, St. Monica and St. Bernard play in different divisions and it’s unlikely the two teams will play each other, Muno said.
“I have nothing but positive things to say about St. Monica,” he added.
