Since the establishment of its football program in 2005, the legacy of View Park football has been one of great success. With six championships under their belts, team members and coaches have high expectations for another successful season.
“Our last season we had a talented team, but we fell short of our goal of a championship,” said head coach Ken Henderson.
Henderson has been with the View Park Knights for nine years, starting as a Defensive back coach. Their latest championship was in 2013. As defending champions, the Knights post season ended when they faced top seeded Los Angeles High and lost in the second round.
Aurthur Roches III, a senior corner and safety, believes that humility and focus are characteristics the Knights must have in order to excel this season.
“We’re all trying to bring the best out of everyone,” Roches said. “We’re trying to get bigger, stronger, [and]faster.”
Many football players at View Park participate in more than one sport, according to Henderson.
“For most of my football players, they usually participate in track, so we have a lot of speed training during track season,” Henderson said.
Junior receiver Kaleb Jenkins entered into his rookie season after playing Rugby since his eighth grade year.
“I had to get back used to football because of the pads. At first I wasn’t really tackling right with the pads, I had to get back in my groove of tackling with them,” Jenkins said.
View Park hosts its home games at Rancho Cienega Park, the home field of Dorsey High school.
Senior running back Ja’Juan Johnson noted the summer has been a learning process due to the high amount of newcomers on the team.
“You got to teach them what to do as well as learn what you can do,” Johnson said.
Linemen coach Preston Pointer mentioned the team had more underclassmen than seniors and that while the team lacks experience, but still sees their potential.
“Overall, our team is pretty good because we have an athletic team,” Pointer said. “If we can combine their mental presence with their athleticism, I think we’ll be pretty good this year.”
