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By ZACH ALVIRA
Cronkite News
GILBERT — Former Shadow Mountain High School football player Jake Welsheimer knows how committed of a head coach Highland High School is getting in Brock Farrel.
When Farrel was hired in 2014 to lead Shadow Mountain, Welsheimer was heading into his junior season. He was unaware of the impact Farrel — in his first time as a high-school head coach — would have on him and his teammates.
“The first time meeting coach Farrel, he actually came to my house to meet my parents,” Welsheimer said. “No other coach has ever done that. He definitely tries to put an extra effort for his kids.”
Farrel proved to Welsheimer when meeting with parents that he was willing to go the extra mile.
According to Shadow Mountain senior Jordan Pace, that only scratches the surface of what Farrel does for players.
“Growing up as a young man with him, he taught me a lot of things,” Pace said. “He was a mentor to me; he shaped me to be the football player I am today.”
He shaped him so well that Pace, who came to Shadow Mountain focused on basketball, has now committed to play college football for Black Hills State University in South Dakota.
Farrel and the Matadors had only two months in 2014 to prepare for his first regular season with them. They went 3-7 that year. Even so, Farrel’s passion jumped out.
“There were a few kids who needed him as a father figure or parent type,” Pace said. “It made it easier to know that if I ever needed him in that sort of way, I could go to him, no questions asked.”
Farrel’s Matadors improved to 4-6 in 2015 and then 5-5 this past season.
Shadow Mountain is located in north Phoenix. Even with the program seemingly on the rise, Farrel took the opportunity to move closer to his East Valley home.
“(Highland) was the top choice,” Farrel said. “I just didn’t think it would be available, but it was.”
Farrel takes over for Pete Wahlheim, who was not retained after the Hawks went 3-7 last season.
Highland’s athletic director, Rod Huston, said the passion Farrel has for his players became a factor in his hiring.
“You look at a program like ours that is 200 kids strong, that is just as important in my mind as whether or not we are winning a state title every year,” Huston said. “I look for someone who fits into our community and who can manage a program of this size.”
When Huston mentioned 200 players, he referred to total on the varsity, junior varsity and freshman teams.
“The people here at Highland fit really well with the values of my family,” Farrel said. “Finding the right fit is more important than finding a splash.”
Tre Davis, a junior lineman for Highland, said Farrel already has started to assert his vision.
“He talked about how he wanted to improve us not only on the field but in the classroom and everywhere else,” Davis said. “He came in with a plan and I agree with it.”
Junior lineman Riley Bond said that the players, eager to impress the new coach, have adopted a new sense of urgency in their off-season work in the weight room.
“He is coming in and doing what we want, what our parents want and giving us that winning mentality,” Bond said. “With that we will be able to come closer together.”
Farrel, 33, has 11 years of high-school coaching experience, including previous roles as an assistant and freshman head coach. He knows there is a process, and while winning championships is always a goal, he believes there are still more important factors — like making the players better on and off the field.
“If we don’t win a state championship, we are not a failure,” Farrel said. “We will set some goals but they will not define who we are if we don’t accomplish them.”
