Garfield hired Joey Thomas to take over the Bulldogs football program for the 2016 season.
Thomas spent the last five years as Ballard’s head football coach and will replace Derek Sparks, who stepped down at the end of the winter sports season after two seasons at the helm.
“It’s an opportunity to come home and give back,” Thomas said. “I can’t think of any greater reward than that.”
Thomas, who was a defensive back at Montana State, has hometown connections to Garfield. Although Thomas graduated high school from Kennedy Catholic, he grew up a mile away from Garfield. Thomas learned to play football and basketball in the neighborhood, and his wife Nicole is a Garfield alum.
In five seasons at Ballard, Thomas compiled a 20-29 record, including an 8-3 finish and a state tournament appearance last season.
Garfield athletic director Ed Haskins said with Thomas’ track record of winning and his commitment to student success academically, he was a great fit.
While at Ballard, Thomas' squad had a team GPA of 3.0, and he helped 27 football players earn college scholarships, which impressed Haskins the most.
“We definitely want to take the next step,” Haskins said.
Thomas, who is Garfield’s sixth coach in seven years, will take over a program that saw recent success under Sparks, but struggled previously, with a 24-130 record between 1997 and 2014.
In 2014, Sparks led Garfield to its first winning season in 17 years, and its first playoff appearance since 1992. Last year Garfield went 5-4.
The prospect of continuing Garfield’s turnaround was appealing to Thomas and another big factor in him taking the job.
“I wouldn’t want to come in and take over a program that’s already been successful,” Thomas said. “I take pride in building the foundation.”
Thomas said his goal and vision for the program was to teach his athletes tangible life skills through sports.
“I’m truly excited,” Thomas said. “It’s a different type of challenge.”
