‘I absolutely love the place.’ Livingston new football coach excited for opportunity
The Livingston High football program is staying within its own house for its next football coach.
Defensive coordinator Steven Wine was recently named the new head coach.
Wine, 34, takes over for Alex Gonzalez, who stepped down after the season to spend more time with his family after eight years at the Wolves head coach.
“It’s an honor,” said Wine, who also teaches history at Livingston. “I’ve been in Livingston for eight years now and I absolutely love the place. I hope to keep building on what coach Gonzalez has built.”
Wine joins Anthony Martinez of El Capitan as two new head football coaches named in the Merced Union High School District in the last few days.
Wine served as the Livingston JV head coach in 2014 and spent the last 7 years as the varsity defensive coordinator under Gonzalez.
Livingston athletic director Scott Winton says Wine is ready to be a varsity head coach.
“Steve would be an outstanding candidate for any opening,” Winton said. “The fact that he is on our campus, we’re fortunate. We want our assistant and lower-level coaches to aspire to be head varsity coaches. We’ll do everything we can to put them in a position to reach that goal. Steve was in that category; we’re all really excited about him achieving his goal at LHS.”
Wine said he was caught by surprise when Gonzalez announced he was resigning. Wine had just landed in Hawaii on vacation when he got the text message from Gonzalez.
“That whole trip I was thinking about putting together an interview for the job,” Wine said.
The right guy
Gonzalez says Wine’s dedication and attention to detail make him a great choice as his successor.
“I knew Steve would be the guy all along,” Gonzalez said. “I’m super excited for him. It’s great to see our staff working together. It’s hard to find coaches in high school. Steve works so hard and he’s dedicated to what he does. It’s cool to see one of our guys move up and take over.”
Football has always been a big part of Wine’s life.
His father Scott coached at Atwater and Buhach Colony for 30 years and actually joined the Wolves staff this year to coach with Steven and his brother Brian.
Steven says he’s had a lot of coaching influences in his life including his dad, former Buhach Colony coaches John Denno and Kevin Navarra, current Buhach Colony coach Jerry Dietz and his coaches at Modesto Junior College.
Wine’s vision
“I have a vision of what high school football should be and I want to do my best to put that vision into practice,” Steven said. “I went to my first high school football game when I was 3 months old. I’ve been around a lot of great coaches.”
Gonzalez and Livingston baseball coach Matt Winton have also been big influences for him. Steve has been an assistant baseball coach under Winton the past eight years.
“I know Livingston football, but I don’t know anybody who loves the city as much as those two guys (Gonzalez and Winton),” Wine said.
Wine has seen the Wolves program headed in the right direction, including a 16-12 record the past three seasons.
“We’re excited about the arch of success LHS football is on, Steve has played a major role in that success,” Winton said. “While losing coach Gonzalez is a blow, we’re excited about Steve’s leadership — we’re excited about keeping the core of our staff together as well as bringing in a few new faces.”
Hard work ahead
Wine’s vision for the program is a lot of work for players and coaches.
“It’s not for everyone,” he said. “We have a lot of great programs at Livingston. Our band is rolling. We have a great FFA program, but nobody puts in as much time as our football guys. Football makes you a better person. You have to be a great teammate. We want kids when they walk off the field after four years not to have any regrets. We want them to have a great experience with us.”
Wine said news started to leak out about his promotion earlier this week. He ran into a former player at a gas station on Thursday and he gave him a giant bear hug.
“The kids have bought in and we’re trying to keep the momentum that we’ve got going from the last couple years,” Wine said. “I wake up every day super excited, wanting to make this program the best it can be.”
