‘He was a fiery player.’ Former Gauchos player named new El Capitan girls basketball coach
It wasn’t long ago Tyler Dietz-Powers was a senior on the El Capitan boys basketball team for coach Adrian Hurtado.
Just three years later and Dietz-Powers is the new head varsity girls basketball coach for the Gauchos. Dietz-Powers, 21, was recently hired as the new coach as he takes over for interim coach Chris Tufts.
“I’m really excited,” Dietz-Powers said. “I’ve been a part of the program and watched many of the girls grow up in the Gauchos Elite (AAU team). The opportunity to coach them in high school is an unreal experience. It’s great to get a head coaching job at the high school I graduated from.”
Dietz-Powers graduated from El Capitan in 2018. He becomes the first alumnus to become a varsity head coach at the school that opened in 2013.
Dietz-Powers credits Hurtado as a mentor and the person that got him started in coaching. Dietz-Powers coached the Gauchos freshmen boys team for Hurtado in 2019. He then coached the JV boys the past two years, leading the Gauchos to back-to-back Central California Conference championships.
The JV team was 30-7 under Dietz-Powers the past two years.
“The first thing that impressed me about Tyler is his enthusiasm he brings as a basketball coach,” said El Capitan athletic director Rodd Parker said. “He was a fiery player for El Capitan and he brings the same kind of spirit as a coach. He also brings maturity, being as young as he is. I think those two things combined impressed me and helped him get the job.”
Parker also said he was impressed with Dietz-Power’s knowledge of the game.
“He’s confident with his knowledge of the game without being arrogant about it,” Parker said. “Winning league titles the last two years with the JV boys has earned him a lot of respect with the players and I know that will transfer over to the varsity girls program.”
Hurtado thought Dietz-Powers was headed for a career in agriculture so he was surprised when Dietz-Powers knocked on his door and told him he wanted to coach high school basketball three years ago.
“I remember the day he knocked on my door and told me he wanted to coach,” Hurtado said. “Ever since then he’s had an attention to detail. He’s always over prepared and I think he’s excelled.
“I coached him his junior and senior years and he was the hardest-working kid. His work ethic was second to none. If I asked him to run into a wall he’d do it. If I asked him to do it again, he’d do it.”
Dietz-Powers graduated from Fresno State in three years and is now working as a paraprofessional at El Capitan.
“I fell in love with coaching right away,” he said. “I like working with the kids. The main think I want my teams to be known for is the same thing I was known for as a player — hustling, doing the little things and being a winner on and off the court.”
This story was originally published July 1, 2021 at 5:00 AM.
