After the previous Jesuit High School Sacramento junior varsity football head coach resigned, current Junior Varsity Defensive Coordinator and former Jesuit Jr. Marauder Head Coach Chris Lee stepped up to fill the position as head coach for the 2021 JV Football team.

While it’s only his first season as JV head coach, Coach Lee has been around the Jesuit football program for a long time. 

“I’ve been around Jesuit football for nine seasons now,” Coach Lee said. “I coached for the Jesuit Jr. Marauders for years, learned Coach [Marlon] Blanton’s system, and coached many of the players that have played for Jesuit.” 

Coach Lee speaks on the process of becoming the head coach.

“This season with COVID-19 affecting so many, our JV coach had to step down, and Coach Blanton asked me if I would take over,” Coach Lee said. “I was honored and said yes because I wanted to help the program any way I could. I asked a couple [of] coaches to come help and I think we have put together a really good JV coaching staff that is teaching football the right way and preparing these young men for varsity football and life.”

Under Coach Lee, the JV team finished its season with a record of 4-1 — defeating Davis Senior High School 14-7 in its last game on Saturday, April 17. Coach Lee enjoyed serving in the role, especially since he coached some of the players when they were playing for the Jr. Marauders program. 

“It’s been amazing coaching these young men,” Coach Lee said. “Many of them I’ve watched grow up and some I even coached before so to be able to get one more ride with them to help them grow as football players but more importantly as young men has been rewarding for me.”

His coaching impressed many of the players including JV quarterback Trenton Dewar ’23 and starting center Finley McDonald ’23. 

“At first I was a little skeptical because of how great [our last coach] was, but after about a week I felt like Coach Lee was a good fit for the team we have,” Trenton said.

“It has definitely helped us. I don’t think we would have gone [4-1] without him,” Finley said. “He keeps pushing us to reach our full potential and most importantly knows what he’s doing. He definitely knows how far he can push us and constantly tries to push our physical and mental boundaries.”

Despite the adversity from COVID-19 and being asked to fill a new position in a quick manner, Coach Lee was still able to win the approval of his players and contribute to the team’s success.