Problems under the surface at Pojoaque

So what now, Pojoaque High School?

Surely, a 10th head coach of the football program will walk through those doors for the 2008 season, after current coach Charlie Gomez suffered what amounted to a mutiny among the upperclassmen last week.

It’s a shame because Gomez at least deserves a shot at bringing some stability to a program that hasn’t had any from Day 1. The argument between players and coach merely deflects attention from the true problem of the program.

It’s a sport that’s underfunded.

It’s a sport that’s underappreciated.

It’s a sport that has little chance of surviving, much less succeeding, in its current state.

Football is not for the meek. It’s unlike most sports because of what it requires. Money. Facilities. Coaches. And most of all, commitment. This is no secret formula. For any sport to thrive, it needs all four elements.

In football, though, a slip in one leads to untold struggles. At Pojoaque, struggling is all the program has known.

It’s easy to see, with a poorly conditioned field, a lack of equipment for all of its players and a ridiculously high turnover of coaches. The players might not like Gomez and his disciplinarian style, but they fail to see that it’s not just the coach who has cheated them of their love for the game.

It should be clear when they walk on to Jacona Field and a see a substandard playing surface. Or when the program doesn’t have enough helmets for everyone. Or when the coaches they did enjoy playing for — Bob Estep and Simon Ocampo — aren’t there anymore.

Their absence is not because they don’t want to be there. It’s because they see how much effort it takes on their end just to keep the program respectable and nothing seems to come of it. The same problems creep up every year.

While the players might have enjoyed playing football under previous coaches, how much fun is there really in an 80-12 loss, like last year at St. Michael’s?

Or the 80-8 drubbing to Lovington in the 16-team AAA playoffs in 2005?

There is none. What players want to know is they have a chance to win every time they play. That can’t be said at Pojoaque.

It can’t be said because the tools aren’t in place and that calls into question the administration and the community. On the surface, they don’t appear to care about winning. All the problems point to that. They might be saying all the right things as the players stand up for what they believe is right, but what will be solved when this whole sordid episode is over?

Getting rid of Gomez doesn’t change a thing for the players. A new coach will come in, take a look around, try to make the best out of the situation for a year or two and leave.

But the players — and the problems — will remain.

What happens then?

Contact James Barron at 986-3045 or jbarron@sfnewmexican.com.