New quarterbacks coach is fitting in nicely with his players and the rest of Friar Nation.

Coach Sam Mora is a long way from his hometown of Oakland as his regime at Malvern Prep begins as a quarterbacking coach.

But, despite being his first official year, he is no stranger to this campus.

“I have been around the Malvern football program and the school for a little under three years,” Mora said. “I have always have taken a liking to it.”

This year, Mora will be a football coach, and also a long-term sub throughout the school day.

[perfectpullquote align=”right” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]“There are a ton of high school football teams that are trotting out a quarterback that is playing for them out of necessity. I think that we have three guys on our team that we can roll out there. I can literally go ’eenie meenie miney moe’ for a quarterback and feel confident that we are going to win.”

– Coach Mora [/perfectpullquote]

Before entering Malvern, he worked in San Diego doing NFL Draft Prep and collegiate offseason training, which is where he met Alex Hornibrook, Malvern Prep graduate and current Wisconsin quarterback. “Alex and I still work out every offseason here at Malvern to improve his form,” Mora said.

Prior to coming to Malvern, Mora was the quarterbacks coach and offensive coordinator at Alameda High School. According to his website (sammorafootball.com), he was “part of the most prolific quarterback development teams in the West Coast,” and has even had the opportunity to train Division 1 and NFL athletes, including Jameis Winston and Logan Thomas.

But, Mora’s path to Malvern started back in July during a USA Football Camp.

“I met Coach Mora for the first time this summer,” football head coach Mr. Aaron Brady said. “I had known of him prior to that because he had worked with Alex Hornibrook and also current Malvern quarterbacks.”

Brady was running a USA Football camp down in Maryland when he was first formally introduced to Coach Mora, who was hired by USA Football to work the camp.

“He was currently looking for a job, and we needed a new quarterbacks coach,” Brady said.

During the camp, Brady took a special liking to Mora’s ability to relate with the kids. “I watched him work, and the most impressive thing to me about him was how well he works with the kids. I felt that the kids got better around him, but also enjoyed the experience,” Brady said.

Only two weeks after the football camp, Mora was offered the position and moved from his hometown to Malvern on August 7.

“When the opportunity to come here opened up, I knew I wanted to be a part of this program,” Mora said.

Mora’s job is to help prepare the Malvern quarterbacks for not only gameday, but also for college.

“We have three great quarterbacks who are capable of playing college football,” Brady said. “To have a guy like that to actually work with them and to train them to keep going towards their goal is just really fortunate.”

Throughout the week, Mora discusses with the quarterbacks what they are going to do offensively, and tries to put them in the best situation.

“I coach them up,” Mora said. “I try to teach them the tendencies the defenses are going to do and how we plan on attacking and exploiting them.”

Mora has more than enough confidence in the three current varsity quarterbacks, all of which are of high caliber.

“I am really lucky,” Mora said. “There are a ton of high school football teams that are trotting out a quarterback that is playing for them out of necessity. I think that we have three guys on our team that we can roll out there. I can literally go ’eenie meenie miney moe’ for a quarterback and feel confident that we are going to win.”

Outside of his coaching strategy, Mora’s ability to connect with his players is specifically unique.

“One thing that I have picked up on with being a football coach is to motivate guys the way they want to be motivated, and not the way I want to be motivated,” Mora said.

Throughout his coaching career, he has learned to see what his players are into. He is constantly trying to get to know his players: what they are listening to, what they are watching, and how they are dressing.

Current starting quarterback, Kevin Doyle, also thinks that Coach Mora is a good addition to the coaching staff. “He is a great addition to the team and is overall a great guy,” Doyle said. “He makes everyone around him in a better mood by his lively coaching style, positive attitude, and great sense of humor.”

Currently, he has coined the term “Fritown” in an attempt to motivate his team. “I felt that it was a cool, goofy hip thing, that whether if you liked it or laughed at it, it would get a reaction,” Mora said.

After he started to spread the brand of “#Fritown” on social media, he feared how much of a success it would become. “In all honestly, I felt that when I first started saying it, a lot of people were laughing at it, but after that LaSalle game, I think everybody wants to be a resident of #Fritown.”

Overall however, Mora is excited and happy to be here at Malvern.

“It is just a really nice campus and I have heard people talk about the brotherhood here and how great it is,” Mora said. “I mean, if you have an opportunity to be a part of something like that, it is really hard to say no.”