Shadow Hills High School Athletic Director Ron Shipley announced former La Quinta Head Coach Dan Armstrong as their defensive coordinator today. The hiring comes along with Dave Gurbada and Ryan Flores who both served time on La Quinta’s sideline as well. KMIR sports reporter Amy Zimmer reached out to Coach Shipley about the hiring’s.
“We are excited with the additions of Armstrong, Gurbada, and Flores to our coaching staff. They are going to be great additions and a huge benefit to our team. Going to be great to be back on the sidelines with coaches I worked with for many years in my early coaching days.” Coach Shipley said.
Armstrong spoke on the phone with Zimmer.
“I’m excited about it. It’s going to be fun to work with Coach Shipley again, we worked together for 12-years. I’m glad I’m going to be coaching at a place that plays in the Desert Empire League and I’m looking forward to Friday, October 13th when we go over to La Quinta.” Armstrong said.
Below is the press release sent out by Shipley Thursday morning.
Shadow Hills High School head coach Ron Shipley is pleased to announce the hiring of three new assistant football coaches for the upcoming 2018 season. Dan Armstrong will be serving as defensive coordinator. Coach Armstrong brings a tremendous amount of experience and success to the table. With two CIF Championships and 11 DVL titles as coach for the La Quinta High School Blackhawks, Dan will be a great asset to the Knights football program. Coach Shipley served as an assistant under Armstrong at La Quinta from 1998 to 2008 before starting the Knights program when it opened in 2009.
Dave Gurbada will be joining the staff and helping with wide receivers and special teams. Dave most recently served as an assistant coach at La Quinta High School. He has over 17 years of coaching experience here in the valley and 30 years overall. Ryan Flores will be taking over the offensive line. Ryan was an All-League and All-CIF player at mLa Quinta High School before a successful college career at McPherson College. Coach Flores has been the offensive line coach at both La Quinta High School and Xavier Prep.
The Knights are ready for a successful 2018 football season. Their prowess on the field in recent years has been well recorded and the team will take the field in August with their motto that “Knights do it right!” Look for the football schedule to be released early in the summer. It will be available on line on the school’s website.
Shadow Hills High School is located in Indio, California and is a part of the Desert Sands Unified School District.
