The Beyer High football program has a new boss.
Greg Bockman was announced as the program’s next coach on Wednesday, as first reported by The Modesto Bee. Bockman succeeds Doug Severe, who stepped down after an 0-10 season, the Patriots' first in the Western Athletic Conference.
Severe, who remains the school’s athletic director, was 41-62 in 10 seasons on the sidelines. He served two separate five-year stints, 2005 to 2009 and 2014 to 2018. His best seasons were in 2006 and 2016, when the Patriots won seven games apiece.
Though Beyer struggled mightily in its first season in the WAC, the job opening was met with curiosity and immediate interest.
One varsity coach from outside the Modesto City Schools district told FrontRowPreps.com that he was interested in the position, just as long as it included a teaching position. Unfazed by Beyer’s struggles, the coach cited the volume of athletes that live in the Beyer neighborhoods and the success Severe’s predecessor, Richie Alkire, had in 2011 when the Patriots won nine games.
“I saw what Alkire did with the local talent,” the coach said, speaking anonymously. “Lots of talent if someone gets them all out for football.”
That will be Bockman's challenge. An on-campus supervisor, Bockman inherits a program that hasn't won a Sac-Joaquin Section playoff game since 2011.
Follow James Burns on Twitter @jburns1980, or email him at frontrowpreps@gmail.com.
