'4th and Forever' Follow-Up: Coach Raul Lara Answers Your Questions

You may think it would be challenging enough coaching a high school team of NFL hopefuls with your son playing quarterback. Now add a full-time graveyard shift as a probation officer to your plate, and you might start wishing for a clone. But Long Beach Polytechnic's Coach Raul Lara makes it look effortless. 

The proud family man, coach and Long Beach Poly alum spoke with Current.com's Daniela Capistrano about his experience on the show and how to balance parenting and coaching.

Daniela Capistrano: What do you hope fans of the show learned by watching it?

Coach Raul Lara: I just hope they see that we don’t just harp on wins and losses; we really care about the kids and teaching them life skills. I think that, for the most part, the show reveals that. It shows the sincerity -- that we care about our kids.

DC: Now that the show has ended, how can viewers support Long Beach Poly and the Jackrabbits?

CL: I think there’s several ways to support. Just being there and being positive, that’s one way. Another way is financially. Just contact Starr or myself and making a donation. But there’s all kinds of ways to be supportive.

The most important thing for us is being positive around the kids. They already have so much pressure, there’s no need to put more on them. Whether we have a great or bad season, everyone should continue to be supportive of the programs.

DC: What's next for you?

CL: I’m excited about the next year coming up. We learned a lot from last year. We have a possible championship quality team. Some of our players from last year are back with more experience. The other thing too is we do have new younger players that will really help us this year. We also made some changes in our program to elevate what we’re trying to do.

[Coach Lara speaks to his son] I want the backyard clean when I get back. I better see it!

…We evaluated what we did last year, we’ve made some coaching changes and are really happy with what we’ve done so far.

DC: Did the cameras affect you or the team in any noticeable ways?

CL: Poly always has cameras around. The difference this time was that they were around almost every day. That was the only thing truly different. After a while, it wasn’t an issue, we got to know the crew and the crew got to know us. Of course, we got a lot of negativity from people saying things like “this is going to influence the kids, they won’t be able to stay focused.” I don’t think that was the case.

The crew took the time to hang out with us and they eventually became a part of the Poly football family. When we did well they were happy, and when we did poorly, they were sad, and it was interesting to see that. Watching the show itself however, sometimes I’m like “Ugh, I wish I didn’t say that!” But what you get from watching is a true sense of what we do over here. At times my language... I wish we didn’t curse so much but again, it’s part of football. It’s no excuse, but [the show] helped me to understand we need to clean that up. But, pretty much, I thought everything [about the show] was pretty much on cue.

DC: What were some moments from the show that personally affected you and the team?

CL: I think a lot of people watching think the Mission Viejo game was the most controversial game, with the quarterback situation. I wish I had an opportunity on the show to explain why I sat Chaiyse out. But, with the team, after watching the show, I went back and made sure the team and Chaiyse understood why I sat him out. It wasn’t because he was messing up -- it was that his mind was not in the game.

When we pulled him out, I told him “you started pointing and you went away from us during the game. So that told us you were done for that game. That’s why Emmanuel had to play. What you did was leave Emmanuel out there to die. You weren’t supportive to Emmanuel.” When he heard that, he went, “Damn, I really did mess up.” He understood that.

Another thing I didn’t like was the scene where the football players started talking about my quarterback decision in the Mission Viejo game. Like I told my players, my door is open so if you have issues or concerns come, to my office and we can about it. But don’t sit and talk about it in the media.

Otherwise, I thought the show was on its Ps and Qs. There was some stuff that was manipulated, but whatever, I know you guys have to make a little drama there.

DC: What did you think about the way that Long Beach was portrayed in the show?

CL: I do think in some sense you exaggerated the violence. Our area does raise some concerns, but it’s not like South Central. We do have some issues here but there are good and beautiful places in Long Beach.

I totally understand what fans felt but also what the show was trying to accomplish. Not all of Long Beach is the way that it was portrayed in “4th and Forever” but we do have some issues.

DC: What was your favorite moment from “4th and Forever”?

CL: I liked seeing myself interacting with kids and teaching them life skills. I think a lot of people watching got a lot out of that and said, “Wow, they do work on this stuff.” But my favorite moment [watching] was us beating Lakewood.

DC: Do you have any advice for other coaches juggling responsibilities on and off the field?

CL: My son and I have a good relationship if he plays or not. He’s actually not going to play football this year. We talked about it and he doesn’t really have an interest in playing. He’s a senior now, he’s doing well in school, so I feel like “let him do that.” He’s going to play rugby or lacross. Obviously I wanted to see him play but again, but he’s my son and I love him dearly and I want him to do what he wants to do. I don’t want him to play because dad is coach.

My advice to other coaches is first, how is your relationship with your kids? Always have a good relationship, it helps tremendously. As far as coaching and parenting, you really need to try hard to separate the both of them. I was blessed where it’s not too hard for me, especially with my wife helping out.

The biggest key [to coaching your children] is your relationship with your son. If you have a horrible relationship and try to coach him, I feel sorry for you. That makes it real hard. But me and my son always had a great relationship so it wasn’t too difficult.

DC: You’re helping many young people succeed. What about your own goals?

CL: I love the probation department and the spot I’m in.

Some people may look at it as crazy, working graveyard, but when you’re by yourself at night and and taking care of business with no one bugging you, it’s awesome to me. I feel like everyday is a day off so it’s not an issue.

DC: Have parents of Poly students or other people in the community approached you about the show?

CL: One day after the first episode aired, I had a message left in my office. Pretty much it said, “Coach I just watched your show and I love what I see on your show. The two kids, the quarterbacks, they are real good kids. I hope you continue to work with them to get them on the right track. And that kid Devin, what he’s doing is incredible. Tell that kid, give him my phone number and I’ll buy a set of knives. We really want to come down and support the program and watch your game, we’re from San Diego.” That message blew me away.

During our tournaments this summer, parents come up to me and go “I really like the philosophy you’re teaching, a lot of positive stuff.” The funny thing to me is that people [who saw the show] feel sorry for me now -- they see how the parents are. They are like, “Oh my goodness, you have to deal with that?” It’s not a big issue, I’m just laughing. That’s what I’ve experienced.

People come up to me talking about the show in a positive way. In a recent tourny, some kids who had been at other games and saw the video camera, I heard them going “there’s a camera up there, we might be on ‘4th and Forever.’” So we started laughing at that, but yeah, that’s the stuff [responses] we’ve been getting.

We'll be featuring more interviews with Poly players right here on the "4th and Forever" blog. Are you a Jackrabbits fan? Leave your feedback and best wishes for Devin and the rest of the team in the comments below. Need some inspiration? Check out what fans said in our interactive infographic.