First-year coaches hit the ground running across Wichita area

Dominick Dingle has command of his practices as if he has been in his position for a decade.

Dingle, Heights’ first-year football coach, was hired Jan. 26. He hasn’t been with the Falcons more than eight months, but he is tasked with keeping them competitive in a loaded City League field in 2018.

He said so far, the transition has been nearly seamless.

“It’s been so great,” Dingle said. “The players are great, the teachers, the parents, the administration is all great.”

Dingle was the defensive coordinator at Garden City before making the move east. These past eight months have been eye-opening, he said.

“I tell the kids, ‘This is a special place,’ ” he said. “There is great diversity and a great school makeup. I couldn’t be more blessed to coach at a great place. There are a lot of people that are trying to do a lot of special things for our kids.”

Dingle will get one year with one of Wichita’s most special players, quarterback K’Vonte Baker. He said though he hasn’t been on the sideline for any of Baker’s games, he can already tell Baker is one of the most gifted players he has coached.

The Falcons’ biggest offensive challenge will be finding 10 guys to work as efficiently around him. With a young defense, they will have to do just that.

“We’re just hoping that our offense can carry us a little bit,” Dingle said. “I’m a defensive guy, and I’ve been spending a lot of time on the defensive side of the ball. We’re just hoping we are one of those teams you don’t want to play week 6, 7, 8 or 9.”

At Goddard, Tom Beason has a lot of pieces to replace.

Beason, the Lions’ first-year coach, was promoted from offensive coordinator in early April. He takes over a young team that sent 10 players on to college football in 2017. Beason said in a way, that makes his job fun.

“We are all going through this together,” he said. “I’ve been here a while, but not as the head coach. We have some holes to fill and we might take some lumps early in the season, but the culture coach (Scott) Vang created is still there.”

The Lions will bring back a pair of talented linebackers in senior Kam’Ron Gonzalez and junior Dhimani Butler. Beason said they will be the heart of the Goddard defense and will be called upon to help him lead.

Beason was at the helm at Wichita North and defensive coordinator at Northwest before spending six years at Goddard. He was familiar with his surroundings, and that made him a viable candidate to take over.

The same could be said about Scott L’Ecuyer at Valley Center.

L’Ecuyer was the Hornets’ offensive coordinator before earning the head job in February. L’Ecuyer has coaching experience at Haven, but taking over for athletic director Caleb Smith at Valley Center is different, he said.

“­Before now I was just focused on a position group or just the offense or defense,” he said. “But it’s a different level in 5A. Being the program manager was an emphasis this summer.”

L’Ecuyer said there are a lot of things that happen behind the scenes and away from the football field that people don’t ever notice from fundraisers to managing with parents’ concerns. That has him rearing for the Hornets’ opener against Maize on Aug. 31.

“The only things is it feels like you coach less, once you’re in this position,” he said. “I love the Xs-and-Os side of things and weightlifting stuff, so the hard thing is not getting to spend as much time on those things as I would like.”

Valley Center will return a lot of experience on the offensive line, L’Ecuyer said. But this year’s luxury will be the Hornets’ depth up front. That has helped make the transition easier.

“It’s a work in progress, and we will take it day by day,” he said. “I loved working for Caleb, and I’d do it again. But I also like running the show.”