For The Love Of The Game

He does not win a Southern Section football championship every year – or any year, for that matter – but Agoura High's longtime coach Charlie Wegher is still a big success.

Wegher, 46, is in his 17^th season with the Chargers, who are 2-6 and having difficulty coping in the fortified Marmonte League that now includes powerful Oaks Christian and St. Bonaventure.

Through the years, Wegher has helped steel thousands of adolescent football players into men, and though Agoura has had its ups and downs – three times the Chargers have fell one victory short of a berth in the section championship – almost everyone has only kind words for the coach.

That's because Charlie Wegher is one of the good ones.

"I started as a yeller, but I've mellowed out, because the kids don't really respond to that," Wegher said. "Nor do parents, so I have to find ways to get the kids to buy in without the old-school ways of getting in their faces."

With two games remaining beginning Friday against visiting Royal of Simi Valley, Agoura is tied for last in the 10-team league with no chance to make the playoffs. Other than perhaps a opportunity to play spoiler against Oaks Christian in the finale, you would think there is not much left to play for.

But the coach's job is to keep the players motivated and in good spirits, and Wegher is a master. He's the prototypical "players' coach."

Support of his players

Gerard Poutier, Agoura's starting quarterback and by far the team's most productive player, knows that when you're down by five touchdowns, the football field can sometimes feel like the loneliest place on earth. But not when you've got Wegher in your corner, backing you every step of the way.

"He's a great guy all-around, and he genuinely cares for all of his players," Poutier said. "He makes sure we get good grades and are good people.  He has helped me exceed my own expectations, and he makes practice fun.

"He makes sure we give it our all, because it's not over until it's over, and we don't want to be a program that quits. He's instilled a relentless attitude in us to never give up." 

It's homecoming night Friday against Royal, and many of Wegher's former players are bound to show up and give another round of support for Wegher and his plucky Chargers who have not won a playoff game since 2004.

Wegher continues to teach youngster how to play football, and through the years he has passed on a lesson or two to some great players, many of whom have earned college scholarships and now live admirable lives – not in the NFL, but as doctors, teachers, businessmen, policemen and firemen, and various other honorable avenues.

Some of the top players through the years who might pay a visit include Kevin Graf and Clay Matthews of USC, Ryan McCann and Chris Denove from UCLA, or perhaps Dustin Croick (Iona), Byran Walker (Penn), Cory Smits (Cal), Doug Shumway (Cal Poly) or Justin Arias (College of the Canyons).

All flourished under Wegher.

Oh so close

The closest Agoura ever got to making it to the championship game was a 10-9 loss at Ventura in 2004, when the Chargers drove to the 7-yard line in the Southern Section Div. IV semifinal, only to fumble the ball away.

"We had a chance to kick the winning field goal," Wegher said wistfully.

The scoreboard was broken and never worked that night in Ventura, ironic when you think back because for Charlie Wegher, it's never been about the score. It was always important to play as a team, to support one another, to behave with dignity, to have fun playing the game.

He had been married to his wife, Jane, for 15 years, and they have a home in Westlake with two daughters, Shelby, 11, and Shauna, 9. With each season, it gets a little harder to be away from his family.

"I'm not sure how long I want to do this for. I'm year-to-year, and when I have a year like this I wonder if I really want to continue to do this," Wegher said.

If and when Wegher goes, he will leave a big vacancy. He is one of the few coaches in the Marmonte League who does not have issues with parents.

"Very rarely do we have a problem with parents," Wegher said. "They are very supportive and helpful."

In the beginning

After playing football at Westlake, then Cal State Northridge, Wegher returned to Westlake as an assistant for five years before moving on to Agoura in 1991. Three years later, he got the head job.

"I learned the most from being an assistant coach to being a head coach," Wegher said. "It's a people business, and as a young coach I thought that if I had a playbook I would be good. But I learned it's about motivation and getting people to believe and to buy in to what we're doing -- not the X's and O's."

Agoura made the playoffs just twice in the 1990s, so the program was trying to build when Wegher arrived. In 2000, he got his first taste of heartache when Agoura was on the brink of qualifying for a Div. IV final in a 33-30 semifinal loss to Arroyo Grande that ended when Denove's long pass fell incomplete at the goal line.

Three years later, Agoura advanced to the 2003 semifinals but lost to St. Bonaventure. The following season was 2004, when it happened again with the 10-9 loss at Ventura; the Chargers have not a won a playoff game since, and this will be the fifth consecutive year without qualifying for the postseason.

Nevertheless, Wegher has total respect among his peers.

"Charlie has a knack for getting the very best out of his players," Moorpark coach Tim Lins said. "They are always well-coached and well-prepared.  He's a class guy and runs a class program."

The Agoura Chargers continue to work hard. By now, through Wegher, they know no other way.

"Coach Wegher has got a great energy, and he's got a good balance and knows when to get on guys and when not to," Poutier said. "He knows how to get to us.  He's tough and has high expectations for all of us and his energy is still up at every practice."

And so another year will end for Agoura's football team. There will be no grand celebration, no confetti, no parade. But there will be a football coach proud of his players, and the players will be better for it. In everything.