Called to Coach

Tharen Todd Feels Right at Home as JV Pilot and Varsity Assistant for Pali High Football 

By STEVE GALLUZZO | Sports Editor         

Over 30 years have passed since Tharen Todd was a star wide receiver and defensive back at Fairfax High, where he lined up against Palisades in the Western League. Since then, he has taught the game to hundreds of young kids in the community and now as the Dolphins’ junior varsity head coach and varsity wide receivers coach, he is anxious to return to coaching the high school level.

One of three finalists for Pali High’s varsity head coach position, Todd was initially disappointed not to get the job, but dismay soon turned to excitement.   

“When they hired Coach [Chris] Hyduke I figured it was over but they called me in to a meeting with him, [Athletic Director] John Achen and [Vice Principal] Russ Howard and offered me an assistant varsity offensive coaching position and the JV head coaching  spot,” said Todd, who was a varsity offensive coach at Venice from 2006-12. “I took a few days, maybe even a week, to think about it and decided I wanted to be involved with high school football again. Things worked out the way they were supposed to. Coach Hyduke is a very experienced coach who I’m learning some good things from and I’m giving him a few things from my coaching style. We have an excellent staff between JV and varsity and I’m excited to represent the area where I’ve dedicated my life to teaching football to boys and girls for the past 15 years.”

Todd is by no means a stranger to the Palisades. He has been an active coach in the community for decades, founding Coach Todd’s Youth Football Academy in 2008 and serving as the head football coach at Calvary Christian School since 2012.   

“Many of these kids have come up from 7 or 8 years old through my academy umbrella and are now high schoolers,” Todd said. “I do think that administration believed my relationship with area kids would keep some of the talent local. I’ve been the 8th-grade coach at Calvary for the past 10 years and most of our top players graduate and go to Loyola or Oaks Christian. With me being at Pali it’ll generate interest from kids that have gone to those schools and I hope to get some bounce backs.”

At Fairfax, Todd was a two-way starter, team captain and made the All-Westside and  All-City squads before graduating in 1991. After continuing his football career at Santa Monica College, he received a scholarship to play at Marshall University in West Virginia, where he led the nation in punt return average yards in 1995.

“I redshirted at Marshall  and played three excellent seasons as a wide receiver and punt returner in Division 1 football,” Todd recalled. “So being the player I was and being competitive, I’m able to bring my passion of football to our Palisades kids and they get it. I’m still able to demonstrate how to catch the ball, run routes, get off the line of scrimmage against bump and run and how to lift weights properly. They’re blown away when they see I’m able to still bench press 400 pounds in my late 40’s now. Kids respect me and give me all they’ve got because they relate to me, they know I’ve been in their shoes. I received a college scholarship and played Division I college football in front of thousands of people and on national TV.”

Todd is a certified fitness trainer and has directed various football camps throughout Southern California. He lives in the San Fernando Valley with his wife Kia.

“The difference with coaching high school kids is their dedication and discipline to the sport,” Todd said.  “Those kids are trying to get recruited and make it to college. I love the desire and the drive they give daily. Coaching younger kids is much different but it’s my favorite thing to do. I have to teach them football while making it fun to learn and compete. At that age they’re doing it because the parents think they should try it or friends from school play. Rarely do they just want it for themselves. So I have to make sure they progress and gain confidence. I’ve witnessed it first hand from my 11-year-old son TJ, who started at the age of 4 at my football camps in the Palisades against older kids.”

Todd’s primary goal as JV coach will be preparing his players for varsity, but he wants to run the same system where possible to maintain contunuity.

“I told Coach Hyduke our JV team will mimic varsity so the transition is easier for the kids,” he said. “We’ll run the same types of plays and use the same formations. It’s definitely a pass-oriented offense if we have the proper personnel. We have talented freshmen returning on JV along with the incoming 8th-graders who are really athletic and a 6-5 quarterback enrolling who I’ve coached in the area since he was 6 years old.”

 Spring practice ended last week but Todd liked what he saw: “The biggest challenge is that spring ball sessions are so short in time and we’re limited in the number of days we can work with the kids, so we only had a couple practices a week. Plus, many of our kids were playing other spring sports such as lacrosse, baseball and track so we weren’t able to see our full team at several of our practices. The majority of kids from the varsity team that went 11-1 in the fall were seniors headed to college next year. I’m developing an entire new crop of talent, from quarterbacks and running backs to receivers. We’ll have all new faces starting the first game against El Camino Real.”

Todd is in his 16th year as a certified fitness instructor and youth football director at the Palisades-Malibu YMCA. He will remain the 8th-grade coach at Calvary Christian and will soon be holding his 10th annual summer football camp for kids 6-12 years old.

“I have no real expectations for JV but I do want to win games and I’m sure the kids will want to as well,” Todd said. “I realize my job is to develop kids and prepare them for the varsity level, so my biggest expectation is for me to improve each and every kid’s character, ability to make plays and willingness to be a team player.”

Having competed in the Western League himself (though back in his playing days it was called the Metro League) and having coached in the area for as long as he has, Todd knows the lay of the land and has formed relationships that will help him maintain the level of success the JV program enjoyed under former head coach Ray Marsden, who will still be involved in the Pali High program.        

“I love the Pacific Palisades—it feels like a small town where everyone knows one another,” Todd said. “I’ve been blessed and very fortunate to work with wonderful families that truly care about me and I’ve coached great kids along the way who I love and cherish. Each year, kids that I coached in the past are graduating college, but they come back to my camps to speak to the up-and-coming generation and tell them about their relationships with me as a young football player and how much they learned from me as a coach. It’s a wonderful thing to be loved and remembered by so many kids for my passion for teaching football, the game that I love so much.”