Entering his third season as Salina South’s head football coach, Christien Ozores believes building a successful program goes well beyond wins and losses. For Ozores, the ultimate goal is preparing young men for life while creating a culture the Cougars can take pride in long after their playing days are over.
Ozores arrived at Salina South after spending four seasons at Russell High School, where he served two years as the Broncos’ defensive and special teams coordinator before taking over as head coach for two seasons. His coaching career began seven years ago at Victoria Junior High, and each stop has helped shape the philosophy he has brought to Salina.
“I’m a big believer in setting kids up for both short- and long-term success during and post high school,” Ozores said. “Teaching them the importance of discipline, work ethic and being a good person to others. I want kids to be proud of the football program they played for and to cherish those memories for a lifetime.”
That mindset was evident from his very first meeting with the Cougars after accepting the job.
“The first memory that comes to mind is the first time I met the kids in person about a week after I got the job,” Ozores said. “I was brutally honest with the kids with what our program expectations will be, what we have to do to take steps forward and asked them to buy into our process of what we need to be successful.”
While Ozores acknowledges there is still work to be done before Salina South becomes a consistently successful program, he believes the foundation is firmly in place.
“We still have a lot of work to do to become a consistent successful program, but I am proud that our athletes and coaches have bought into our vision for success,” he said.
Ozores credits much of that progress to the support surrounding the program. From the school’s administration to parents, local businesses and assistant coaches, he says the entire Salina South community has embraced the vision.
“The Salina South community has been great,” Ozores said. “South High has a good culture and school pride continues to develop more and more each year. The administration is awesome and very supportive in what we are trying to accomplish.”
He also points to the collective effort required to build a successful program.
“Our community members, parents and local businesses have been very supportive and understand that it takes a village to develop something special,” Ozores said. “We preach family and community to our kids, and they do a great job of representing that in the Salina community.”
Just as important, Ozores appreciates the commitment of the coaching staff that has helped establish the culture.
“I’ve been lucky to have a great coaching staff as well that has helped tremendously with getting things going in the right direction,” he said. “We are lucky to have such a great staff that puts countless hours into our kids.”
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