Nathan Kenion has always enjoyed being a student of the game, whether it be football, baseball or basketball. In 2008 legendary coach Bob Ladouceur hired Nathan as the running backs’ coach for the De La Salle High School Spartans. In Nathan’s first year as a coach, De La Salle won the league title and North Coast Section Championship, and runner-up for State Championship.
A stickler for details, Nathan is known for focusing on “the little things that make a big difference.” As a coach, he prides himself on teaching fundamentals and techniques properly and using these skills to gain an advantage on the playing field. Nathan continues to work with De La Salle’s athletes and athletes of all ages throughout the Bay Area, helping them to maximize their potential whatever their sport may be.
Those who follow the De La Salle football program understand that the success achieved by any team is due in large part to the “hundred little things” that the coaches ask of the individual players. Concentrating on properly executing fundamentals and techniques, doing the right things until they become instinctive, working smart and working hard, are examples of what is expected of all De La Salle athletes, and what Nathan teaches to his private clients, and at his camps and clinics.
Nathan has built his own coaching style and career based on these expectations, and he enjoys sharing this passion for the game with others. He has devoted his life to teaching and coaching athletes of all ages.
AS AN ATHLETE
Nathan grew up in Vallejo, California, where he was a nationally ranked baseball player, as well as an excellent football and basketball player. While attending De La Salle High School, Nathan excelled in basketball, track and football, but eventually chose to concentrate on football. He became an integral part of the De La Salle Spartan football teams from 1998-2001. His teammates include several current NFL football players: D.J. Williams (linebacker, Denver Broncos), Maurice Jones-Drew (running back, Jacksonville Jaguars), and Matt Guiterrez (quarterback, New England Patriots), among others.
Nathan was also team captain on the De La Salle football team. He started on both sides of the ball, at running back on offense and safety on defense. As a junior, Nathan collected 5 interceptions on defense and rushed for over 600 yards on offense, leading the team in touchdowns (24). He was a pre-season All-American as he entered his senior season. As a senior, Nathan collected 15 touchdowns and was part of a dynamic trio of running backs that included Alijah Bradley (University of Michigan) and Maurice Jones-Drew, arguably the best running back to ever come out of De La Salle’s storied football program.
On defense in his senior year, Nathan finished with over 100 tackles and was a First Team All League selection, First Team All Area and second team All State. He accepted a full scholarship to Saint Mary’s College, and in his junior year, he transferred to University of Nevada, Las Vegas. There he started at defensive back and was voted by his teammates as team captain his senior year.