Capistrano Valley's search for a new football head coach included a number of candidates, some from out of state. But in the end, the Cougars did not have to look far to find their man.

Ernst Bucher has been coaching football for half his life; now, after 17 years as an assistant or coordinator, he will get his first chance to lead a program as the Cougars' new head coach.

Bucher's hiring was officially approved Wednesday night by the Capistrano Unified School District board.

"I already felt like I was at home at Capo," said Bucher, 34, who had been an assistant at Capistrano Valley for the last three years under Matt Poston. Poston left earlier this month to take the head coaching job at Tesoro.

"When Matt got the job at Tesoro, I was excited to jump at the opportunity to get the head coaching job and keep some continuity," Bucher said.

After graduating from St. Paul of Santa Fe Springs, Bucher began his coaching career at La Quinta (1995-98). He then did stints at Capistrano Valley (1999-2001), Estancia (2002-04) and Aliso Niguel (2005-09) before returning to Capistrano Valley in 2010.

"All the people in the community who had been around the program had nothing but positive things to say about him and his football expertise," Capistrano Valley Athletic Director Chad Addison said.

Bucher, 34, is an English teacher at Aliso Niguel, but Addison said a request has been made to transfer Bucher to Capistrano Valley as a teacher, but it has not yet been finalized.

According to those who know Bucher well, it is no surprise he is finally getting a shot as the head of a program.

"From the beginning, he's a guy that grew up as a football kid," said Jeff Veeder, who coached Bucher at St. Paul (Santa Fe Springs) and hired him twice as an assistant. "He lived and breathed football. Even as a player he was kind of a coach on the field."

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Bucher named new Capistrano Valley coach