Wessman arrives in Napa, now the work begins

The community of Napa, CA, and specifically Napa High, will continue to get
acquainted with new Grizzlies head coach Richie Wessman.

The 38-year old Wessman arrived in Napa with his wife (Julie) within the past
week from his most recent position at Ramstein High School, which is located
on Ramstein Air Base in Germany, where he was teaching physical education
along with coaching football and soccer.

He is a former University of Southern California backup quarterback who has
coached at every level from high school to college to NFL. Wessman spent five
seasons as a quality control coach and administrative assistant with the NFL’s
Tennessee Titans (2009-2013). He has served as a graduate assistant for both
Clemson and Mississippi. He was also an offensive assistant at USC from
2003-2004.

Wessman spent time at the University of Minnesota, Crookston, which is a
Division II school. He coached quarterbacks and wide receivers along with being
a recruiting coordinator. Wessman spent the 2016 season as the head coach at
Ravenwood High in Brentwood, Tennessee, leading the Raptors to a 7-6 overall
record with the team advancing to the third round of the playoffs. After that
season, he moved to Italy to coach a semi-pro team. Wessman is full-time PE
teacher at Napa to go along with his coaching duties.

Wessman was a guest on the Sportsvine, which is a weekly program that airs for
one hour on Napa radio station 1440 AM KVON on Saturday mornings. Michael
“Duey” Green was the interviewer.

Though on the surface, Wessman’s career features short stints, he comes in
planning to be in Napa for an extended stay.

“We’re getting there,” Wessman said. “We’ve been in town for just over a week.
We have a mattress on the floor but it’s good enough for now. We’re getting there
day-by-day. My wife has been fantastic in helping us get settled. I’m here to put
down roots.”

That’s encouraging considering that Wessman is the program’s fourth head
coach in as many seasons but time will tell.

I made it a point to listen to the interview but not for the reasons most people
are thinking. Since Wessman is new to the Napa community, I have never met
him and nor am I on Napa High's staff, I believing reserving judgment is the way
to go instead of making any grand proclamations. I’m not opposed to having hot
takes but this is not the time.

It’s no secret that the school and the football program have endured much
difficulty the last few years: a) Troy Mott’s resignation that stemmed from
philosophical differences with the administration on how to rebuild the program as
a result of a hazing scandal, b) Hiring Jesus Martinez in the 11th hour to avert a
cancellation of the 2017 season, c) Martinez, who was a long time JV assistant,
was a walkon coach that was fired in June 2018 and replaced by Tom
Petithomme, who is the school’s co-athletic director with Darci Ward and d) The
mascot changing from Indians to Grizzlies.

However, even though it is part of the story, I’m not here to rehash the past
because it is exactly that -- the past. There were a few comments Wessman made
that caught my attention. The first was how welcoming the community has been,
“From the district to the administration to the players. It has been a fantastic
experience thus far.”

When asked about Memorial Stadium, which is regarded as a premier high school
football venue in California, Wessman said, “It’s a better stadium than most of the
Div. II (college stadiums) that I saw when I was working at that level. It’s truly a
special place. You get chills walking around there. I can’t wait to see what that
place looks like when it’s rocking on friday night when we’re winning again.”

The freshmen program went away last year due to lack of numbers but is being
re-instituted this season. To that point, Wessman said, “We have some great
coaches dialed in to work with the freshmen.”

“There’s a lot of interest. The response has been great. They know just like I
know that Napa football is back.”

Oh but back to what?

While Wessman said all the right things within the framework of what he was
asked, there were some questions that remained unanswered but that’s because
they were not asked. Who are his definitive assistant coaches? How many more
are you looking to add? What will your base offense and defense be? Why were
the recent events of the past not enough to be a deterrent to take the job?

I am all about supporting Wessman because even though Napa is not a small
town by population, it carries itself like one, which can be good and bad. The good
side is that people care. The downside is that it can lead to hyper analysis.
Wessman deserves the room and support needed to turn the program around
because we should want the program to succeed. Football can change the
perception of a school more than any other sport. When it’s going well, it’s like a
high tide that raises all boats.

Though Napa has lost 17 of its last 20 games including last season’s 0-10 mark,
the non league schedule coupled with the fact that the Vine Valley Athletic League
is top heavy and there is a JV team that went 7-2-1 elicits hope.

The Grizzlies, who are a CIF North Coast Section Div. II team, have a non league
schedule is Middletown, Nevada Union, Vallejo and Armijo. Middletown is the
North Coast Section Div. V champion. Nevada Union, which was once a Sac
Joaquin Section powerhouse, has not had a winning season since 2011.
Vallejo has not had a winning season since 2003. Armijo has been a perennial
bottom feeder in the Monticello Empire League.

As for the VVAL, Vintage is riding the high tide at present with American Canyon
still in the picture. Given the right approach, the Grizzlies could rebound and
achieve respectability sooner rather than later. The key will be getting a couple
wins in the early going. I realize winning is not everything but in high school
athletics confidence is a huge element. Constant losing breeds apathy, not
confidence.

Here’s hoping Wessman gets the support he needs to facilitate a bounceback
campaign.