Struebing back to lead Eagles' football team

He's back. After four years away, Mike Struebing has returned to coach Vista del Lago's varsity football team, as announced Thursday night at the FCUSD school board meeting. Struebing, 41, coached Vista's varsity team for eight seasons from 2013-14 through 2020-21, accumulating a 55-30 record, including a 4-6 playoff record. He stepped down four years ago citing burn out, and was replaced by Kyle Landes, who went 30-17 in his four years before he resigned after last season. "I feel great; I feel energized," Struebing said. "The time away was wonderful. It gave me perspective and time to recharge and time to spend with my family. I had nothing left in the tank after COVID. "It's been great. I feel good. I'm excited for the new challenge." Struebing knew when he stepped down he wasn't done with coaching; he just needed a break. He took one year off, and then took over the weight room and conditioning duties from Landes the next two years, before jumping back into coaching with Landes last year as a receiver coach. Did Struebing miss coaching? "After about the first month after I resigned, I started thinking about coaching every single day," Struebing said. "I knew I jump back in but I didn't know when. The passion never went away for me." With three kids 6 years old and younger, Struebing had people asking him if he asked his wife, Stefani, also a teacher at Vista, if it was OK he applied for the job. "It was actually her idea," Struebing said. "When Kyle stepped down, she said I should apply for the job. I said 'are you serious.' So we talked about it a couple more times and I ended up applying for it." Struebing plans to have his staff set in a few weeks. He said he expects little changes in both offensive and defensive philosophy and formation, saying the offense will still run the spread and the defense will still feature a three-man front.