By Luke Odden ’21 | Head Coach John Kitna celebrates with the team after a victory during his first season.
Luke Odden ’21
THE ROUNDUP
Coach Jon Kitna takes a new job with the new Alliance of American Football.
Varsity football coach, Mr. Jon Kitna, has taken on a new position as the offensive coordinator for the San Diego Fleet in the upcoming Alliance of American Football (AAF). Although Mr. Kitna will be coaching for the Fleet, he will still be the head coach for Brophy football. The AAF is an upcoming football league that has been backed by various companies including CBS and Amazon.
The AAF is not to rival the NFL. The AAF can be thought of as a feeder system for the NFL. The players that will be participating in this league will not be locked into long-term contracts and will be able to attend NFL training camps because the season ends in April.
Mr. Kitna was confronted by this opportunity from one of his old mentors and former coaches, Mike Martz. Martz is going to be the head coach of the San Diego Fleet. He offered Coach Kitna the opportunity to become the offensive coordinator for the Fleet.
Mr. Kitna will be starting as the offensive coordinator on February 9, 2019, the inaugural season of the league. There are currently eight teams in this league. The San Diego Fleet is from San Diego, California and it is named this because of the influence of the US Navy.
As the first game approaches, Mr. Kitna says that he is more than happy about this new beginning. “I am 100% excited. what a great opportunity to grow and develop as a coach and a man,” said Kitna.
Mr. Kitna is looking at this job as a time to grow. Mr. Kitna went on to say, “In coaching, you have clinics and mentors. In teaching, you have professional development courses. This league will be like a 4-month professional development course for me.” Mr. Kitna is hoping to take back some of the things he learns in this league and implement them in the ways he coaches the Brophy team.
With this new opportunity, Mr. Kitna had to make some coaching decisions for next year. He said that there are quite a few other high school coaches that are taking part in this league as well. Mr. Kitna said that Brophy will take priority over this league in the case of any conflicts, and because of the timing, there should not be any conflicts in the first place.
