Ex Torrey Pines High School Football Coach Retires For Good

Blazing summer sun and grass stains. Sweaty uniforms and locked helmets. Gritted teeth and tenacious fortitude. For much of San Diego’s youth, Pop Warner Football is symbolic of childhood, where kids form iconic memories that will help define them as adults. And for those at Torrey Pines Highschool in San Diego lucky enough to play under Coach Andy Vanderwiel, they’re not just shaping memories, they’re shaping their very futures.

Vanderwiel, Vice President and Corporate Account Director at local Waxie Sanitary Supply, began coaching Pop Warner football seventeen years ago, but his history with the sport goes back even further. After his father took him to try–outs as a high schooler, Vanderwiel fell in love with the sport, the adrenaline of play and the rush of victory. He went on to play for prestigious teams through high school and junior college, but he missed the sport long after he finished school. "I’d always wished I could contin ue playing," Vanderwiel attests. "I loved being on the field, the physicality of being drained after the game."

Vanderwiel got an opportunity to return to the field when his eldest son, Blake, began playing Pop Warner football seventeen years ago. Through coaching, Vanderwiel fell in love with the game all over again. Vanderwiel watched as his players grew, their persistence and determination on the field building and their devotion to the team, all of which shaped not only themselves, but even their coach, into stronger individuals. "Something about the kids and their innocence was so refreshing; to go out there everyday, they were out there to do the best that they could," Vanderwiel reflects.

Vanderwiel quickly realized that he didn’t just enjoy coaching, he was good at it, too. As his son Blake grew through Pop Warner, Vanderwiel led the team to several championships. When his son left to play for high school, Vanderwiel feared his coaching days were over; he attended that year’s coaches’ meeting with hopes of scoring a position as a flag coach, and was surprised to find that he was being asked to coach the junior midget team for Torrey Pines Pop Warner. Since that day, Vanderwiel has been thoroughly involved in local Pop Warner, with positions ranging from coach to president, vice president, field coordinator, fundraiser, and an active member of the board. Vanderwiel also helped spearhead a movement to build the football–only locker room at Torrey Pines High School, ensuring that those kids he helped coach can become top–notch athletes through high school.

With his youngest son, Morris, gearing up for high school, it looks like Vanderwiel’s days of coaching Pop Warner are coming to an end. But he has plenty of incredible memories to last him for years to come, like when son Blake scored a touchdown in the 4th quarter of a championship game, making the score 6-6; the team kicked and got 2 extra points to win the championship. Or when his expansion team barely made it into the playoffs but went on to win the first game when an injured player ran a reverse play and literally limped into the end zone (Vanderwiel still has a photo of his victory–cartwheel after that game). 

But it isn’t just Vanderwiel who has memories of these years to treasure; countless players reflect back on their time with Vanderwiel with gratitude and happiness. Vanderwiel notes that frequently he’ll have tall, burly men run up to him and embrace him with calls of "Coach Vanderwiel!" Growing up in an unquestionably fortunate part of San Diego, Vanderwiel isn’t the father of rags–to–riches stories like The Blind Side, but the work he does with these kids is still important. As Vanderwiel says: "Especially in our area, our kids are very fortunate. What football does for those kids—it’s a struggle, it’s not easy. It teaches them. It’s a lot of sweat, tears, pain and struggle; it’s a violent sport. We’re teaching these kids to be aggressive and work hard. It’s something that will give them that discipline that they’ll have the rest of their lives.

Vanderwiel is that token San Diegan, the man who stands for family and community and embodies small–town charm in a big city way. Families in Torrey Pines and students at Torrey Pines High School may mourn the loss of Vanderwiel as a coach, but don’t worry: we hear he has big plans to continue helping the community both with and without his favorite sport.