The architect of Hope Christian’s state championship defense in 2019, and the man who put together Albuquerque Academy’s stellar defense the last two years, is now the Chargers’ new head coach.
David Lee, 49, replaces Shaun Gehres, who recently resigned.
“Just to be at a school like Academy, with regard to its academics … everybody is just solid,” Lee said. “I want to take advantage of the opportunities we have there.”
The Chargers have been a Class 4A state quarterfinalist the past two seasons. Their defense has been one of the best in 4A since Lee took the job in 2020.
The San Diego native had spent the previous few seasons at Hope Christian. And during the end of his tenure with the Huskies — he was a varsity assistant from 2015-19 — Hope Christian featured what was probably 3A’s stingiest defense.
Hope Christian registered seven shutouts in 2018 and gave up just 5.4 points a game.
The next year, the Huskies recorded eight shutouts (giving up just 7.3 points a week) in a season that culminated with a state title.
When Gehres stepped down, Lee said, the entire coaching staff was surprised.
“We had no idea,” Lee said.
“I hadn’t really thought about (becoming a head coach),” he added. “I was in a good place being a defensive coordinator.”
But this chance was too good to pass up, Lee said.
“Opportunities are slim and none when it comes to head coaching positions, so I decided to move on it,” he said.
Lee, who said he has been coaching since he was 19, has been a head coach at the YAFL level; he coached for a spell in Manzano’s system, where his offense was guided and constructed, in large part, by Manzano’s then-varsity coach — and current Centennial coach — Aaron Ocampo.
“He really took me under his wing,” Lee said. “And (he helped) us build the Manzano pipeline when he was there. A lot of what I know offensively came from Aaron Ocampo.”
Lee works at Sandia National Laboratories in Albuquerque. He feels the Chargers will remain relevant in 4A.
“I’m extremely excited,” he said.
