It didn’t take long for Camp Verde High School’s new head football coach to settle in and lay the foundation for a winning season.
But then again, he was a Cowboy himself.
Steve Darby graduated from CVHS in 1980, and has come back to fulfill a longtime dream of his.
“After the last game of our senior year, Tracy Tudor and I made a vow to each other to come back one day and coach the Cowboys as we were walking off the field,” Darby said. “We continued to talk about it throughout the years and we both ended up back here teaching. Now, with me as the head football coach and him as the assistant, and him being the head wrestling coach this next year, it’s great. We are fulfilling one of the dreams we always had.”
Darby is a retired firefighter from Mesa and is the fire science teacher at CVHS.
“I’ve taught here for seven years now,” Darby said. “I know the kids, the facilities, the administration, and that has made it an easy transition.”
Darby has spent the past four years cross-valley as the Mingus Union High School junior varsity coach and the varsity offensive assistant and quarterbacks coach.
“[Mingus Union Head Coach] Bob Young runs one of the best programs in the state,” Darby said. “I learned a lot of him on how to run a football program.”
The first thing on Darby’s agenda is to change the losing mentality that is draped over Camp Verde after the 1-9 season they suffered last year.
“When you have one losing season, there is a mentality of losing that occurs and tends to stay,” Darby said. “We are telling the kids if you put in hard work and listen to the coaches, you can be a championship team.”
For the full story, please see the Wednesday, July 3 issue of the Camp Verde Journal.
