Heritage's Broach named Liberty High's first football coach

Kraig Broach has often said that his greatest pleasure in coaching is simply his connection with the players. (File photo)

By Doug Spoon, Editor

The lingering effects of COVID-19 have left a return date of high school football uncertain, as it has with so many other activities.

But one thing is certain: When football does return in Menifee, the new Liberty High School will have one outstanding head coach.

Kraig Broach, who compiled a 117-31 record and sent his team to the CIF-SS finals three times in 12 years at Heritage High, was introduced today as the head coach at Liberty High, which will open its doors on the eastern border of Menifee in August.

Broach resigned his position at Heritage last March, ending an impressive stretch as Heritage’s first and only football coach. But after almost a year away from coaching – even while sports were mostly in the practice mode due to COVID-19 – Broach said he realized what he was missing.

“When I was dropping off my daughter at water polo practice, I would see all the kids outside working out – volleyball, football, cross country,” Broach said about the time last fall when high school athletes were permitted to work out in hopes of having a regular season. “At a difficult time, they were coming out just to do something. I realized I missed the connection with the kids.”

Broach has remained as a PE teacher at Heritage, where he has stressed maintaining a connection with his students in the distance learning format.

“It’s tough,” he said. “You don’t want the kids on the computer all day. My class should be the one time they’re up and moving. I try to be motivating and understanding.”

As the school year wore on, Broach said he took notice as Heritage principal Erika Tejeda was announced as Liberty’s first principal, followed by the announcement that Heritage athletic director Scott Moore would be Liberty’s first AD. He began to consider the possibility of returning to coaching, building a new football program for the second time.

“That’s just the way it worked out,” Broach said with a laugh. “I knew Liberty was coming; this wasn’t something out of the blue. But once Erika and Scott moved over, I started really thinking about it. They are really good people, and I thought about working with them again.”

Moore said he considers himself fortunate to be starting a new athletic department with someone like Broach, who has done it before.

“It takes a load off my plate,” Moore said. “It provides me with someone to come alongside to help me in this process of starting a new school. It is all new to me, but he has done it before. I will use his experiences to help shape our athletics programs.

“It’s always a good day at Liberty High School, but today is just a little better than yesterday. Go Herd!”

The Bison football program will face an even greater challenge than Heritage’s program did initially. In Heritage's first year in 2007, with only freshmen and sophomores attending, the Patriots played a JV schedule. They were 4-6 their first year of varsity football in 2008. Two years later, they were 11-1 and the Heritage football tradition was born.

Next fall, however, Liberty will take a team of freshmen and sophomores into a varsity schedule in its first year. And with open enrollment of Liberty not yet begun, Broach has no idea who his players will be and whether high school football will be back to normal by then.

“The biggest factor will be keeping an open mind about what we’ll have,” Broach said. “I’m open to a whole new experience. I don’t know one student yet.

“One thing I learned from before about the first year: There will be things that won’t go quite the way you expected, no matter how much you prepare. This situation will be different, so we’ll just go with the flow. I don’t want to be thinking, ‘Well, it worked there, so I’ll do it here.’

“It was nice to step away for a year, but it helped me see that [coaching] is what I feel I need to be doing. I’m not ready to just be playing a bunch of golf.”