“We really believe great coaches are born – they’re not really made that much,” said Eidson, also a UCLA alumnus.Īlumbaugh received a call from Ladouceur in the midst of settling a job offer in San Francisco. They remembered how quickly Alumbaugh understood academic and athletic concepts, as well as the ease with which he led as a player and taught others as a coach. Ladouceur and longtime De La Salle defensive coordinator Terry Eidson shared the same vision as to where Alumbaugh belonged.
He wasn’t sure what to pursue, though he knew that he did not fit as a “nine-to-five desk guy.” Jobs in telecommunications, sales and insurance presented possibilities to Alumbaugh upon graduation in 2002. I thought it was a really great experience, and I thought it was something I could contribute to as well.” “I knew how much it had done for my brother … for me,” Alumbaugh said. He also has experience in Spanish, calculus, economics and PE. Justin Alumbaugh has taught 17 different courses on a long-term basis, including English and history. His volunteer commitment meant giving back to a preparatory school and football community that was so influential in pushing Alumbaugh to think beyond himself as an adolescent. … Luckily, he did.”ĭespite inheriting the responsibility of guiding one of prep football’s most storied programs, Alumbaugh remains dedicated to fostering minds in locker rooms and classrooms alike as an educator whose achievements are measured in what kinds of people he can help develop.Īlumbaugh drove up to the Bay Area to coach summer camps and several fall games for De La Salle during each of his undergraduate years at UCLA. “As soon as we got him here full-time, I knew he’d be our next coach if he was going to stick around long enough to do. I kind of felt that long before that time too,” Ladouceur said. When Bob Ladouceur, widely considered one of the best coaches in high school football history, stepped down as coach to an assistant role in early January 2013, the owner of a 399-25-3 Spartan record and architect of a De La Salle dynasty had known for years who his successor would be.Ī linebackers and offensive line coach as well as the leader of the Spartans’ offseason training for more than a decade, Alumbaugh shouldered more responsibilities than the coach in the last few of Ladouceur’s 34 years at the helm. The ability to communicate a different message to each audience and individual in a group forms a crucial aspect of Alumbaugh’s philosophy as a coach and teacher. Alumbaugh then helped coach linebackers and offensive linemen in many of the games along the way to the still-standing record of 151 straight victories until 2004, as well as almost every De La Salle win since. He and the rest of the 1997 Spartans etched their names into the record books by breaking the national mark for consecutive wins at 73. Few possess a role in carving out and maintaining De La Salle’s place among the great high school football programs like that of UCLA alumnus Justin Alumbaugh.
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