Liberty athletes lay the foundation for successful programs

Liberty's football team had a 9-1 record last fall, joining a list of successful teams and athletes (see photos below).

(Photos courtesy of Liberty High School athletics)

 
By Paige Mendez, Correspondent

Liberty High School recently wrapped up its first year of high school sports, and the future looks bright for Bison athletic programs.

With only a few teams competing in varsity games, athletic director Scott Moore said that overall the athletes were successful because of the challenges they overcame with an ability to adapt to difficult situations. Only freshmen and sophomores attended the school this year, so even if a sport competed on a varsity level, it did so with only those younger players.

In some cases, such as track and golf, that didn’t hold athletes back from going to the postseason. Mac Brigham (golf) and Juan Juarez and Samantha Sena (both track and field) made it to the CIF individual playoffs for their sports. The softball team also finished a full varsity schedule, while the baseball team went 20-5 in a JV and varsity combined schedule, winning the San Diego Lions tournament to end their season.

Thanks to a huge turnout, the football team was able to field both a junior varsity and freshman team. Playing a freelance schedule, the JV team posted a 9-1 record. Next school year, the Bison will play a varsity schedule in the Mountain Pass League with schools from Hemet and Perris.

On top of a young demographic, the new school also faced challenges of the literal building up of their programs in the physical sense. The football field was the only thing built for the athletic department at the opening of the school, and that made for a lot of adapting for other sports.

“Our girls tennis team didn’t even have a home match this year. So just their flexibility and their ability to adapt and overcome the obstacles in their way has impressed me,” said Moore.

That flexibility is something, perhaps, these students have had no choice but to learn. Many of the sophomores at Liberty High (along with those at schools across the state) are back in school for the first time since finishing their seventh grade year. The COVID-19 pandemic has given them all something to adjust to. Going to a new school, opened just this year, is just one more adjustment they had to make.

“You have a bunch of kids coming from different backgrounds and there was never a culture built,” said football coach Kraig Broach. “These kids didn’t even know each other, so seeing them leave wherever they came from and come to Liberty and form a bond was really pretty special.”

For Broach and head baseball coach Scott Montgomery, opening this school is especially gratifying. Although many coaches can only plan to do that once in their career if they are lucky, they have had this opportunity once before at Heritage High. For Montgomery, the lesson he has learned from both experiences is the same.

“The one thing that I learned and still holds true is that a successful program surrounds itself with good people,” Montgomery said. “From my coaching staff to the administration to the teachers in the classroom and parents, you make sure you have the right people surrounding you and supporting you and the program. That really makes all the difference in the world.”

According to Broach, that type of support has boosted the student athletes’ relationships with each other.

“It’s pretty special to open up a new school,” he said. “It’s hard to explain. You get to start something new and set the traditions and bring a culture. It worked really well for us this year.”

That culture, Broach said, can’t really be put into a poster hanging in a locker room or a quote on his clipboard. He tries to focus, instead, on creating a positive environment of inclusivity.

“It’s more of an idea of a warm place where kids feel like they belong,” said Broach. “Just the idea that kids like coming out to practice. I like being around the kids and they like being around us. It’s fun.”

He said the most recent fun they had on the football field was a recent spring practice where 96 kids showed up -- roughly one-third of whom were soon-to-be juniors.

With next year bringing some upperclassmen for all sports, having more facilities available, and with teams already established, Moore predicts there will be more to see from the Liberty athletics department.

“I think we’re going to be competitive. I think we have some really good things that could come out of this school. I’m just excited to see what our next step is,” Moore said.

“If they come in as a ninth grader and go out as a better person as a senior, then I think we’ve done our job. Winning and losing will take care of itself, but we teach them to be good people, to be fair and have good sportsmanship.”

Broach is on board with Moore’s idea of success.

“If you came out to practice today, you’re not going to hear me say ‘we have to win’ or ‘this is how we win’ or all that,” Broach said. “We don’t talk in those terms. We talk in terms of getting better and building and what you can do to improve … it has nothing to do with wins or losses, but with creating success, because you’re creating something where kids feel they are important and they enjoy being here.”