Beyond the X: Demands come in many forms for high school football coaches

5. Line it up
For the last 17 seasons, Dickson and Mike Lynch, two on-campus coaches, have led the offensive and defensive lines. Lynch retired after last season and will be sorely missed. Cooper said their leadership and expertise have been absolutely key.

Even when the Grizzlies don't have great speed and athleticism from skill players, they still manage to win close to 10 games a season.

"It's why we've been so successful and why we've been good every single year," said Cooper, who is also the offensive coordinator. "When you're a little stronger and faster like last year, we can compete with anyone. We've been very fortunate."

6. Get help
Cooper knew at an early age that on-campus help is vital. In his early years at Harbor, like many coaches now, he was the only coach on campus. He pleaded with a principal to get a full-time coach on board, even finding a gentleman with impeccable credentials.

"I was 26 and I knew then I couldn't do it on my own," he said. "I was smart enough to move on."

7. Love and passion
The team's next big recruit – literally — is 6-foot-3, 235-pound sophomore middle linebacker Cameron Smith, who already has offers from UCLA and San Diego State.

With 4.71 speed in the 40-yard dash and a ridiculous 191 tackles last season, he figures to be the school's top recruit ever.

"Coach Cooper gets better and better every year," Smith said. "He always puts a great team out there. He's a great coach."

Smith said he might someday want to be a coach. What will he bring from Cooper if he goes down that path?

"His intensity. His love for the game," Smith said. 

Said Dylan Keeney, another Division I linebacking prospect who had two interceptions — one returned for a touchdown — in the state-title game: "Coach Cooper is a great inspiration for all of us. He's a great leader. He has a motor that never runs out."

8. Leave town
Being a Type A personality – and with a love for the program and kids — Cooper can't stay away from the school.

So, at Christmas, spring and summer breaks, he makes sure to vacation with his wife and daughter. It accounts for six weeks.

"If I'm in town, I'll wind up here," he said. "We do whatever we can to rearrange our schedules, and get out of town."

9. Train smart
In 2004, Cooper made a deal with then-school principal Ron Severson that if the Palmer Training Center was built, he'd leave his math teaching job to become a full-time trainer on campus. 

Fit and chiseled, the 5-foot-10, 170-pound Cooper loves to train kids, especially athletes. It's largely why Granite Bay is so strong in the fourth quarter and late in the season.

It helps too that Cooper believes in a platoon system. Players rarely, if ever, play offense and defense. It helps too that the Grizzlies attract 60-plus players to fill the roster.

"If you're an athlete, weight training should be part of your daily routine," he said.