End of an era: What impact did Phil Young have on Fort Worth Arlington Heights football?
On June 27, longtime Fort Worth Arlington Heights football head coach Phil Young told the team he was leaving the program. He’s been coaching 34 years and spent the last 11 with the Yellowjackets.
On Monday, the school named defensive coordinator Curtis James the next head coach. James was Young’s recommendation. Young called James a “brilliant coach.”
“He’s got an unbelievable work ethic and he loves the program at Arlington Heights,” Young said.
The transition marks the end of an era for Fort Worth Arlington Heights Football. Young was promoted from offensive coordinator to head coach in 2013, and in 10 years as the head coach, he led the Yellowjackets to a 63-44 record.
In 2022, the Yellowjackets won 10 games as a District 4-5A D2 team, including one in the playoffs against Frisco Independence.
Young said moving on has been on his mind “for a while.” He said he feels strong and healthy, and he wants to take time to “move in a different direction.”
“I never wanted to be one of those coaches that just ran it into the ground and in the end, you know, everybody was just praying for the coach to leave,” Young said. “… I wanted to leave the program better than I found it.”
The importance of a coaching staff
In 1987, Young played tight end at Texas Tech; Spike Dykes was the head coach. Young said Sonny Dykes, current head football coach at TCU and son of Spike Dykes, would come to practice sometimes.
“He is an old high school coach and he was surrounded by guys that he had trusted and coached with,” Young said. “Most of them are ex high school coaches and I just remember how close our team was. It all stemmed from watching how close that staff was and how hard they worked.”
Young said the coaches on Spike Dykes’ staff were “true friends and competitors.” It taught him that choosing the right staff is one of the most important aspects of coaching, given you have control over who is hired.
Young said the coaches on Arlington Heights football staff were “best friends.” He added several coaches had opportunities to leave but chose to stay with the Yellowjackets.
Young said players want to be proud of the program they’re in. The belief stems from a coaching staff that takes pride in their work.
“They want to put the work in,” Young said. “You just got to know how to get it out of them. And you got to model that for them.”
Young said earning respect, working hard and playing good football is a goal, but mentioned if performance is the only thing that matters, the coaching staff has failed.
“What we want to do is make sure we try to model and teach young boys how to become young men,” Young said. “Strong, young men in the world today.”
Senior quarterback Eric Orozco said coach Young taught the team valuable lessons.
“The main lesson was to never give up, really,” Orozco said. “No matter what anybody tells you. Just do what you know you can do.”
Young said the Yellowjackets don’t have the same facilities and budgets as some of the other top schools in the area. Still, he tells his players to “never make excuses.”
“No one has ever worked harder than we have,” Young said. “We can’t guarantee a win or a loss, but we will never play a team that has outworked us, and our kids believe that.”
This story was originally published July 20, 2023 at 7:00 AM.
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