{"id":292,"date":"2013-12-08T02:12:37","date_gmt":"2013-12-08T02:12:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/lbpost.com\/articles\/sports\/long-beach-poly-s-head-football-coach-raul-lara-announces-resignation\/"},"modified":"2013-12-08T02:12:37","modified_gmt":"2013-12-08T02:12:37","slug":"long-beach-poly-s-head-football-coach-raul-lara-announces-resignation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/sports\/long-beach-poly-s-head-football-coach-raul-lara-announces-resignation","title":{"rendered":"Long Beach Poly’s Head Football Coach Raul Lara Announces Resignation"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\"POLY<\/p>\n

Raul Lara (L) and his Poly Jackrabbits brought 5 C.I.F. titles to Long Beach. Photo by Matt Cohn<\/em><\/p>\n

Raul Lara, whose 13-year run as Long Beach Polytechnic High School’s head football coach included 12 Moore League championships and five C.I.F. titles, announced his resignation Friday.  <\/p>\n

“The school and the administration have been great throughout my career at Poly,” says Lara.  “I’m so appreciative of their support.”<\/p>\n

Lara, who played linebacker for the Jackrabbits and graduated from Poly in ’84, joined the school’s coaching staff as an assistant 23 years ago. As head coach, he compiled a remarkable 74 – 2 record against the rest of the Moore League. His five C.I.F. championships are the most by any Poly coach in the program’s illustrious 106-year-old history. Over his entire coaching career, 31 of his players played in the NFL.  <\/p>\n

Coach Lara, who was reimbursed for his coaching duties with a relatively small LBUSD stipend, endured the pressure that comes with leading one of the most storied high school football programs in the nation, and did it while holding down a full-time probation officer position on the graveyard shift at the Juvenile Detention Center in L.A.  <\/p>\n

He had planned on stepping down after last year’s one-point loss to Granite Bay in the state championship game, but was persuaded to stay for one more year by the school administration.    <\/p>\n

“I needed a change in my life,” Lara says.  “I was not having fun anymore. I feel like I have stayed at Poly too long. I need a change to recharge my batteries. If any doors open up and the fit is good, I might coach again. I would really like to coach at the next level. Whatever the Good Lord has planned for me, I’m ready to do.”<\/p>\n

Read more:<\/strong><\/p>\n