Good Sports: Hanford HS football coach gets glimpse of NFL coaching world

Hanford High Football Head Coach Cannon Sanchez is back in the Valley with a fresh Tampa Bay tan and an immeasurable amount of football knowledge.

Sanchez spent a week at the Buccaneers National Coaching Academy, a full immersion into life as an NFL coach.

"Just being with those guys every single day, just how they operate and the attention to detail that goes into every practice, every individual meeting, every team meeting was just truly like second to none," he said.

Sanchez had a front row seat to off-season workouts, rookie minicamp and position group meetings, working the closest with the quarterback room.

"I was up in the mix during all that stuff," Sanchez said. "Baker Mayfield is as advertised. He's a new dad and was not a big-time type of guy. Shakes my hand and introduced himself. He wanted me to start every meeting with a dad joke so he could learn some new dad jokes."

"Did you give him a good dad joke," I asked.

"You know what, I think I folded under pressure," Sanchez said. "I don't think I had a good one."

Luckily, dad jokes weren't part of the application process.

"They send you a clip of a certain play, and then how are you going to break that play down," Sanchez said. "You go back and forth with their staff and they find you that way."

Sanchez stood out among thousands of applicants, selected as one of 25 coaches from around the world.

Now back in Hanford, Sanchez is preparing for his 5th annual youth camp at the end of the month and already has ideas on how to take his clinic to the next level.

"There are so many behind-the-scenes things that you don't get to see as a fan at that level that we're definitely going to take back," he said. "Whether that be individual drills that we really liked or team building things that they put together."

The Cannon Sanchez Youth Camp is taking place May 30.

"That day is so special because football has given so much to me," Sanchez said. "It's really cool to give back and have other guys give back as well."

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