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EHS Football Spotlight: Meet Mark Gunderson, Enumclaw's New Head Coach

Mark Gunderson takes over for Don Bartel, who left to be the defensive coordinator at Skyline High School in Issaquah.

With the news earlier this year that Don Bartel would be leaving the Enumclaw High School football program, EHS athletic director Kevin Smith sought out the perfect coach and teacher to help move the Hornets football program forward, now buoyed by a shiny new stadium at Pete's Pool.

The man who separated himself from the pack was 30-year-old Mark Gunderson, who brings with him a diverse background of playing experience under legendary PLU head coach Frosty Westering, as well as coaching experience; last year, he was the defensive coordinator for Foster High School in Tukwila.

"Mark gave a strong interview and had a proven track record of success, and his focus on character development was one of his biggest strengths." Smith said about choosing Gunderson for the job.

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Gunderson, who starts his position as PE/health teacher and head football coach in August, recently took a few moments to talk about landing the Hornets football head coaching position and his plans for the program moving forward.

Patch: What was it about the Enumclaw job that stood out to you in deciding to pursue it?

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Gunderson: Enumclaw is an AWESOME community that supports their athletics. Being a one high school district is very appealing.

Patch: How important is it to be the Enumclaw football coach, considering your family lineage with Hornets football?

Gunderson:  VERY, VERY special. My dad Gordy Gunderson went to, played, taught, and coached at EHS.  I was a ball boy for some great teams back then.  It is truly full circle for me to be back in Enumclaw. I am very proud, humbled, honored and excited to be back!!

Patch: What are some things that you learned from playing under Frosty Westering that helped shape your coaching philosophy?

Gunderson: Frosty Westering was a unbelievable motivator. He is not in the college football hall of fame because he had great players. He found different ways to motivate kids. This will be a point of emphasis on a daily basis. We will focus on the “inner game”  which is a belief system and building character in our players. 

Patch: With football being the ultimate team sport, how would describe your philosophy on team building and your plans for that at Enumclaw?

Gunderson: Football is a game of trust. To trust the other 10 men on the field we must have great team chemistry. We will do team building activities at practice that other’s might not believe has anything to do with football. That couldn’t be anything farther from the truth. The team building element will DIRECTLY impact our on-the-field performance, and we will spend time to develop this. 

Patch: How would you describe your approach in regards to developing your program at the youth and middle school football levels?

Gunderson: We will implement our systems at the middle school and junior Hornet programs. To what extent is the question. We will build a solid scheme that uses our language and formations. This way the kids are familiar with the systems by the time they get to us at the high school and we can focus more time on scheming opponents and not memorizing our own systems.

Patch: Schematically, what can Enumclaw football fans expect to see both offensively and defensively in 2012?

Gunderson: Offensively: powerful run game, physical, ball control, with a great play action and passing series. Defensively we will stop the run and make people pass the ball. We will be GREAT on defense. 

Patch: What are expectations of the team for the offseason and in getting prepared for a tough nonconference schedule with White River, Skyview along with the typical tough SPSL 3A slate?

Gunderson:  Our biggest game is the next one on our schedule. For us, we will take on whoever is on the other sideline expecting to be successful. We will be prepared for any and every opponent.

What they are saying about Mark Gunderson:

"I was very excited for him to hear about his hire at Enumclaw High School. He is a great position coach, very thorough and communicates well with the players.  He shows great enthusiasm.  I think last year Mark took some great steps in being ready for a head position.  His preparation and attention to detail really started to show.  He has always been organized and has some great ideas for team bonding.  I think he’ll be very successful and the community should rally around him." -Foster head football coach Jim Sutrick

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