To serve and not be served.
New head football coach Fred Gambrell said he constantly preaches this mantra to his players.
“Serve but not be served; don’t be selfish, but be selfless,” Gambrell said. “And then just humbleness — always respect your opponent and always give it everything you got and just compete and win in everything we do, but in the long run, be humble about it and care for others.”
This philosophy has been deeply rooted in Gambrell’s life since becoming a Christian at 13 years old while attending Spalding Middle School in Lamar, South Carolina.
“I asked Jesus Christ to be my Lord and Savior, and since then, that’s been my go-to, praying, seeking God’s words through the Bible and just having that faith has always been what I’ve leaned on to,” said the head coach, who started football at 9 years old and played linebacker and tight end at Lamar High School.
SOUTHERN ROOTS
As a boy living in a small town in South Carolina, Gambrell said he was surrounded by family and grew up playing sports, including football, basketball and baseball, putting his Christianity as his top priority throughout his entire sports career.
Though baseball and football served as his top sports activities, Gambrell said it was in middle school when he realized his bigger love for the latter.
“[Football] allowed me to get aggression out; it allowed me to be physical, which honestly helped me, but it always kept me busy,” he said. “And the other aspect of being a part of a team, the camaraderie with your teammates, having to battle together — I liked that brotherhood.”
After playing those two sports at Lamar High, Gambrell said he did not declare a major when he enrolled in North Greenville University in the same state in 2002. Two years later in 2004, he transferred to Charleston Southern University, where he majored in physical education and minored in biology, to play Division 1 football as a walk-on free and strong safety.
“Walking onto a Division 1 football team was the hardest thing I ever did because I constantly had to prove myself,” the head coach said. “I think that’s probably one of the No. 1 things I got out of it was constantly realizing that in life, you’re going to have to prove yourself, knowing that I’m going to fail at times but persevering and building back up and trying again.”
Gambrell said he then went on to graduate from Charleston with a bachelor’s degree in PE in 2006. He played one year of semi-professional football, which has a level of play lower than the professional realm, with the Charleston Knights in South Carolina before ending his playing career.
“I was done,” he said. “I was tired.”
FROM PLAYER TO COACH
Following this, Gambrell said he was hired for his first job as an instructional aide for a hearing and visually impaired classroom and taught from 2008-2011 at Darlington High School in Darlington, South Carolina, while working to earn his master’s degree in special education at Francis Marion University in Florence in the same state.
“I wanted to be a high school coach, and I was working on my credential for special education, and so I just took the job; honestly, it was probably one of the best jobs I ever had,” said the newly hired coach, who was drawn to special education because of interactions with his students. “I learned that one, everybody truly deserves an education no matter what their impairments or difficulties are, and two, [I learned] how to work in a school setting.”
Throughout his time at Darlington High, Gambrell said he also served as the school football team’s special teams coordinator. In addition, he coached defensive backs and worked with strength and conditioning on a football squad that ended its first season with a 2-8 record.
“I think once I started it was difficult, and it was tough,” he said. “But just being part of a team and football, and just being able to guide young men and, you know, help them in their daily lives to grow up kept me driven.”
In 2012, Gambrell said he returned to his alma mater, where he helped out with the football team’s offensive line and tight end positions, ultimately ceasing his coaching to focus on his student teaching.
FROM THE SOUTH TO THE WEST
The new head football coach said he eventually moved to Southern California with his wife to live closer to his wife’s family, who resided in the area.
From 2015-2018, he started coaching at Dana Hills High School, working as the defensive coordinator and running backs coach, he said. His subsequent coaching jobs were at Kennedy in La Palma (2018-2019) as a defensive coordinator and assistant head coach and San Clemente as a defensive backs coach and a special teams coordinator (2020-2023).
Gambrell said his favorite coaching moments occurred at San Clemente in 2020 and 2023 when his team, which finished the season 5-0 in league play and 9-2 overall, secured its victory against powerhouse Mission Viejo High School, securing the South Coast League title in both years.
“But the last one was more special for me because one, I ran the defense, but the kids came together, played together and really bonded as a group,” he said.
After this, Gambrell said he applied for the head football coach position at Sunny Hills after he saw an opening because he spotted the program’s potential. He was hired in January after two panel interviews — one with teachers, parents and principal Craig Weinreich and the other with administrators.
“I’ve been through a few of these, but this school is different,” he said. “They actually care about the teachers, they care about who they hire and so that was a big deal for me.”
FROM SIDELINES TO GRIDIRON PERSPECTIVES
SH athletic director Paul Jones said he was also deeply inspired by Gambrell’s faith.
“He was easily our No. 1 candidate,” Jones said. “His coaching experience, his playing experience and his coaching philosophy of being here to serve, being a servant leader as a coach [made him stand out].”
Jones also said he noticed the positive atmosphere Gambrell creates within his team.
“The kids are having fun, it’s positive and they’re building a new culture,” the athletic director said. “He’s creating really great relationships with the players and the coaching staff, and so everybody’s having fun and learning.”
Wide receiver and cornerback senior Grant Rabe said he respects Gambrell’s coaching philosophy.
“He’s very knowledgeable about what he teaches; it could be about technique or something about running the right route,” Rabe said. “He gets super in-depth on how to do it, or what we’re doing wrong and what we need to do.”
Gambrell hopes to utilize the technique of swarming to the football for his defense in which all 11 players get to the ball and try to make the tackle. For all players, Gambrell said he desires for them to be disciplined in their assignments.
“My offensive philosophy is to take care of the football — be aggressive,” said the coach, who makes all the offensive calls. “We want to be able to run a ball and throw the ball vertically down the field and be an aggressive offense that attacks downfield.”
Wanting to be the best leader for his team, Gambrell said he aims to follow in the footsteps of former Lamar High head coach Don Poole.
“He was almost like a coach-dad; he took me under his wing,” said Gambrell, who played for and coached alongside Poole. “I kind of followed in his footsteps and wanted to be a coach like him, just with the whole serving attitude and just being there for kids.”
FROM 0-3 TO A WINNING RECORD?
After the first three non-league games of the season, the Lancers have yet to capture their first win under their new head coach. The closest they came was against Buena Park High School, losing with a score of 24-21.
“The record doesn’t show it, but these guys play hard,” Gambrell said. “Every game, even though the scores at the end of the game don’t show it, they have definitely progressed and made improvements; they are not the same team they were six months ago, three months ago, or one month ago and are constantly getting better and making the effort to become tougher, stronger and more disciplined.”
The new head coach said he plans to build a community that understands what it takes to emerge victorious in games.
“We are building a culture that understands everything to win a football game,” he said. “Our guys are starting to understand and they are buying in and doing what it takes to win.”
Gambrell said he also hopes to assemble the SH football program from bottom up, just like what’s been done at San Clemente during his time as a coach.
“I saw potential to build this program up and that whole family style of support and being there for each other is what gravitated me toward [the school],” he said.
Inspired by his faith, the new head coach said he introduced a new activity called the Word of the Week in which the players ponder upon a type of characteristic or good quality like courage, trust and perseverance.
“[We discuss] just those qualities that we want to see in these young men that will carry them through life, which I got all from my faith,” he said. “I read the Bible every day so as humans, if we had these qualities, we wouldn’t only be better people, but we would make the world a better place.”
Before each game, Gambrell said he usually reads his Bible and always recites a prayer; on the field prior to the game’s kickoff, he also looks for his family in the stands.
“You get overwhelmed and get emotional, but these things keep you grounded and focused on the task at hand,” he said.
Throughout his time at Sunny Hills, Gambrell aims to help his team improve in every aspect of the game, whether it be fundamentals or just playing.
“[We want to try] taking one game at a time and being successful and also learning how to navigate through the ups and downs,” he said. “One thing I always tell [my team] is that we can’t be a roller coaster — we’ve got to stay up and be cool, calm and collected.”
