J.R. Alcantar started working and coaching at Canyon View in 2021, but coached at Millennium in 2022 and Liberty the last two years. So he never coached any player currently at the Waddell school until January.
Yet he knew most of the kids on campus as a student support specialist and sponsor for the Fellowship of Christian Athletes club.
“You find the kids that kind of stick out and don’t talk to other kids. You bring them in. You use the FCA kids. ‘Hey, let’s invite this kid out to this event,’” Alcantar said. “The cool thing is I met most of these kids through FCA, When we started it was 20-25 kids. Now it’s 80 to 100.”
Junior defensive tackle Andy Fierros said he did not know Alcantar until his sophomore year. Much of the campus did, just not as a coach.
That changed late last year. Former coach Nick Gehrts was fired in mid-November and Canyon View hired Alcantar Dec. 1.
“He’s always been a genuine guy and always been there for me to help out,” junior defensive end Tiki Teeples said. “I was excited to hear he was going to coach us.”
Alcantar would watch the Jaguars during bye weeks for Millennium and Liberty, where he coached running backs for the last two Open Division champions. His office was near the Canyon View weight room.
Alcantar coached Dysart from 2013-2016 and Laveen Cesar Chavez from 2017-2020.
Every time after leaving Chavez, he told coaches he planned to be a one year guy on their staff, intending to get a head coaching job.
In the winter, he had his choice of schools to coach. But only one was ideally set up for him to coach his son, Nolan, who is a sophomore.
“When my son got to high school, that was huge for me. I though, I’ll coach varsity for a year or two and he’ll play JV or freshman. By to my surprise he was a varsity player in his freshman year as a long snapper. So it sucked, and made me feel like a really bad dad. I wanted to coach him, I was going to coach at a high school where I was allowed to leave and watch him play,” Alcantar said.
Before the spring semester began, Alcantar and his staff took over the weight room and football class.
Players quickly noticed a difference.
“The old coaching staff was good, but I felt like he would bring something better. He has,” Fierros said. “I feel like Coach Alcantar is more into the player and what they’re feeling.”
In part driven by the new coaches and motivated by last season’s 3-7 record, the 2025 team is more dedicated in the weight room and conditioning, senior edge rusher Jackson McCarthy said.
Senior quarterback Brady Scott said he’s become more comfortable with the new way of doing things.
“I’ve known him since my freshman year and had a good relationship with him. I was excited for the culture change,” Scott said. “This year, it’s more business. Everyone goes 100% in the weight room and on the field. The game’s a lot quicker and we’re moving a lot faster.”
Strength and conditioning coach Derek Underwood coached with Alcantar at Dysart and Cesar Chavez.
James Fischer is another Alcantar assistant at all three schools, and he’s making waves as the offensive coordinator.
“I built a great relationship with him right now. It’s easier to understand the offense when you can ask any questions you want,” Scott said.
Alcantar and his assistants are different coaches than they were pre-COVID. The head coach was at Shadow Ridge and Canyon View for their formative years.
Most importantly, he went to Liberty and broke down opponents at the highest competitive level of football in Arizona. Ge also learned from watching Colin Thomas operate an offense.
“Coach Thomas and I talked. Another coach of ours had already left to Liberty. I knew I was going to take a step down. But I thought that if I could go somewhere where I know it’s done right, not just at the top,” Alcantar said. “I was reassured that a lot of the things I did were right. But also, a lot of the things I saw other coaches scheme against made me think, ‘Why did I do that this way?’ Knowing that he was going to attack it. It’s cool to see that and see the pace. It’s cool to see what it is to be at a national powerhouse.”
Defensive backs coach Jordan Champion and quarterbacks coach Ron Baker stayed on the Canyon View staff.
Early signs of this group of players and new coaching staff are positive, including a win in a 7-on-7 tournament at NAU on June 28.
“We took it upon ourselves to change the culture while we had the chance,” Teeples said.
Richard Smith Senior News Editor | Glendale & West Valley Preps
Richard Smith has been with Independent Newsmedia since 2016, and worked at a Sun City-based news outfit covering the Northwest Valley for 22 consecutive years.
An NAU alum and lifelong Arizona resident, Richard began as a copy editor and page designer at Surprise Today and the Daily News-Sun, then rekindled his love of sports writing by taking the reins on West Valley Preps in 2008.
For most of the mid-2010s he was the Surprise editor and West Valley Preps reporter. Now he’s the West Valley Preps Editor and Surprise Associate Editor.
As COVID restrictions slowly lift, Richard is cautiously optimistic he will visit book stores, football fields and gyms again this fall.
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