Doherty, Banning enjoy coaching Jr. Bulldogs too

Paul Doherty and Jordan Banning are the leaders of the Folsom High football program, as head coach and Doherty's No. 1. As if that's not enough work and responsibility, the two stepped up and volunteered to coach the youngest group of players in the youth football program, the Jr. Peewee team, as their kids wanted to play football this year. Doherty threw his hat in the ring, and told Banning he's going to coach with him. "Paul kind of told me I was coaching the Jr. Peewees, I thought he was joking," Banning said. "He had a whole plan for it though. My son, Dante, wants to play, and his son wanted to play. He said there's no way we're going to be going to these games and practices and sit around and watch. He said It's never going to happen, so he sold me on it pretty quickly." What was the main reason Doherty wanted to coach. "I wanted my son to have a good experience playing football," Doherty said. "I told all the parents that my goal is for all the kids to have a positive football experience. I've been coaching high school football for 20 years and I've seen it done right and I've seen in it not done right and then the kids suffer the consequences. "I wanted to do this because I have a lot of help at Folsom, specifically Jordan Banning, and he's got a lot of help too. We've had a number of coaches in the program coach both youth football and varsity football, Jalen Angel being one; Zach Sclater's done it, now it's our turn." Doherty's son, Luke, 8, Banning's son, Dante, 8, and a nephew, Jameson, 8 are all playing on the team. Banning has enjoyed it so far. "It's been a blast," Banning said. "It's completely different than coaching the older kids. Paul and I are still learning how to do it. It's a blast being out there with the kids and their level of excitement. You've got some kids who could care less and other kids who want to be NFL players. Just being out there and introducing them to football is fun." Said Doherty, "I've had a ton of fun with it so far. It's humbling as a coach. It really forces you to hone in on instruction and makes you a better coach. It's all about your knowledge, your ability to communicate that knowledge and the enthusiasm with which you communicate. Your ability to communicate with an 8-year-old is probably far more challenging and the enthusiasm you need to maintain with an 8-year-old is far more challenging." Banning said her prefers coaching high school football, calling him and Doherty football junkies who are trying to win competitive, high level high school football games, but says to check back in 10 years to see what he thinks about coaching youth football then. "It's important for us to have a successful youth program, so we want to develop the kids in the program," Banning said. "Our first state championship team, they came up through the Jr. Bulldogs program, so what we want to do is to develop the program and we want the kids to have a ton of fun." Added Doherty, "I'm committed to coaching that team just as much as I'm committed to coaching the high school team. It's all the same, but my main goal is I want to make sure these kids have a great experience."