First Person / The Coach and the Quarterback
Dynamic Duo II

Roger Caron returned to Pomona as head football coach this fall, after taking a two-year leave to coach at Cheshire Academy in Massachusetts. His son, Jake, who graduated from Cheshire last year, is a Pitzer College freshman and the Sagehens’ star quarterback, named the 2007 SCIAC rookie of the year.

Coming Home
Roger Caron: We decided about a year ago that I was coming back, no matter where Jake went to school. I like coaching here and Christine likes living here. And Pomona has great kids who represent the college well.

Jake Caron: I had a few options to play 1AA ball in New England, but I’d had such a good experience in high school playing for my dad and I wanted that to continue. Coming back to Claremont was a plus. I’m close to my family, my sister and mom, and I get to see my dad every day. And my friend, R.J. Maki, who went to Cheshire from Claremont with me, decided early decision to come to Pomona. I couldn’t ask for anything more.

RC: Before we went to Cheshire, I thought Jake was being pushed, or pushing himself, down a path where football was the only thing he was concerned about. And that wasn’t what we were looking for. Ultimately he came to the conclusion that wasn’t what he was looking for either.

JC: I saw myself going to a state school and trying to play big-time football and letting that consume my life. When I made the decision to go to Cheshire, I decided that’s not what I wanted; I wanted a small school atmosphere.

Coach and Quarterback
JC: He coached me a lot when I played Claremont Youth Basketball and then at Cheshire. Now that he’s coaching me at the college level and I’m playing quarterback, it’s more demanding. He expects a lot out of me on the field.

RC: It’s actually harder for him in some ways than the other kids because I do have higher expectations and because he doesn’t get a break that some of the other players might get. It’s impossible to separate being a dad from being a coach, but I try to treat him as one of the players all the time. To a certain extent, he’s treated more harshly than everyone else because you can’t have the perception that he’s getting a pass.

The Program
RC: I think a lot of our past success was that the kids were not necessarily more athletic, but they were much more intense. We’re trying to get back that toughness.

JC: The main thing I’m proud of is that the players who started the season stayed with the team and we didn’t lose anyone to injuries. We also had great chemistry.

RC: I think the kids got along well; it was a diverse group. Our numbers were good this year. We started with 46 on the roster and will have 40 players returning next year. We may start next season with 60, which would be high for us.

Off Season
RC: When the season is over, I tell my players I don’t want to see them until second semester—to have some fun, stay in shape, focus on your studies, take a nap, relax. We want the kids to do other things so they’re totally integrated into the college community.

JC: The freshman football players got here before the other students so we could go to camp. Now that the season’s over, we can branch out. I’m playing basketball for Coach Kat.

RC: I believe in the two-sport athlete. For some reason that’s gone away and everyone wants to be a specialist. If you go to play Division I college football, you’ve made a decision to focus and that’s fine. But in Division III, I think that’s incredibly stupid.

Differences
JC: I’ve been a vegetarian for about 15 years.

RC: I’m a carnivore.

JC: He eats everything but vegetables--a little bit of fruit--but when we go out we can find some place that has what we both want, as long as there are potatoes and salad.