When Anthony “Bones” Segura went to Santa Fe Indian School to talk with athletic director Eric Brock, he wasn’t looking for its head football coaching job.
But when he learned the position was open, he took a chance and applied for it.
Fortune favored him, as he was named the Braves’ next head coach Monday, replacing Bill Moon, who retired after three seasons and more than 30 years coaching in New Mexico.
Segura comes in with no varsity head-coaching experience, but he did run the Ortiz Middle School program the past two seasons and was co-owner of the semi-pro Santa Fe Sting organization for nine years.
Segura said he feels his background in football makes him a qualified candidate to turn around the fortunes of the Braves program, which hasn’t had a winning season since 2015 and only one non-losing season since then. The program, which spent the past seven seasons struggling in District 2-3A, will play an independent schedule for the next two years.
SFIS was 1-9 last season and just 2-17 over the past two years under Moon.
“Something that I learned at a young age was how to make adjustments,” Segura said. “To get kids, to get players here, you have to adjust.”
If anyone knows about that, it’s Segura. A 2012 Capital graduate, Segura went through three head coaches and saw the program fall from a consistent district contender to one that barely made it through his senior year. Despite that, he played at Eastern New Mexico, then for the Sting while he worked as a deputy with the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office.
Segura never lost his passion for the sport. He created an adult flag football league and even played for the Duke City Gladiators in the fall. He said that experience taught him how to make football work in Santa Fe, regardless of the level.
“The approach was, you had to figure it out or you didn’t have football,” Segura said.
That’s the approach he is taking with the Braves, a boarding school that traditionally closes the campus during the summer. Segura talked with parents about ways to get their kids to the school for off-season workouts during his first team meeting Monday. He said he came armed with public transit bus and train schedules for players and parents to use since many of them live outside of the Santa Fe area.
He said most of those services are free, especially to students, and he promised parents he or one of his coaches would pick up players once they arrived.
About 20-25 players showed up for the first two workouts, Segura said.
“All they got to do is get on the bus or get on the train,” Segura said. “I told [parents], ‘We’ll see them on the other side. That’s all you have to do.’ ”
Segura said he applied for the Capital job that opened earlier this year and had a chance to join John Michael Salazar’s staff. He said he bet on himself that he could handle the rigors of a head coaching position — and won.
That makes Segura the fourth Capital graduate to hold a head coach position in Northern New Mexico, joining Salazar, Santa Fe High head coach Andrew Martinez and Pojoaque Valley head coach Zeke Villegas.
In fact, three of the four 11-man programs (New Mexico School for the Deaf has a 6-man program) in the city have Capital grads in charge. Only Joey Fernandez of St. Michael’s — a 1988 Horsemen grad — does not fit that bill.
Segura said he has a staff of eight coaches who are going through the hiring process, but he hopes those hurdles will be cleared by the time two-a-day practices begin in earnest Aug. 5.
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