New leader of the pack

The new face of Puyallup Vikings football is unveiled

Shaun Scott

A coach with a multitude of local ties landed arguably one of the most coveted high school football coaching jobs in Washington.

The Puyallup School District recently announced the hiring of Gary Jeffers as the Vikings’ new head football coach. Jeffers replaces the legendary Tom Ingles, who resigned his coaching position after five seasons with the team in January. Jeffers was the Vikings’ defensive coordinator last season.

“I have lived in this community for more than 20 years. My wife is a Puyallup High School graduate; my oldest daughter graduated from the PHS in 2008,” Jeffers said. “I feel like I belong to the Puyallup Valley community and am vested in it.”

“We all know there is high expectations. There has been a set course of success in the past,” Jeffers said. “As coaches and players we’re going to do everything in our power to meet those expectations. These kids believe they can win and I’m excited about that.”

Jeffers has a plethora of coaching experience. From 1996-2003 Jeffers was the head coach at Washington High School in Parkland, transforming a team that had won just five games in five years into a perennial contender in the former Pierce County League in the early 2000s.

“I feel that I’m a student of the game,” Jeffers said. “As a coach you have to inspire kids to be the best they can be. You have to keep your players motivated and inspired to get them to understand what needs to be done.”

With spring football a little under three months away, Jeffers is giddy with anticipation.

“I think we definitely have some young men who can be pretty good football players. We have a lot of potential but we still have a lot of work to do in the spring and summer so our guys reach that potential,” Jeffers said. “We’re going to have an aggressive spring ball and an aggressive summer camp. The willingness of the guys to commit will determine if the potential we have is actualized.”