Austin Hepola is an ASU Cronkite School of Journalism student assigned to cover Desert Vista High School for AZPreps365.com.

Being a head coach of a football team isn’t always about X’s and O’s.

While that aspect is still essential, being a leader among your players and inspiring them to play the game is just as important. 

Desert Vista head coach Nate Gill works hard everyday to be great at both sides of the spectrum. He isn’t just coaching to win football games, he truly wants to make an impact on his players' lives. 

“I take tremendous pride in 40-year relationships rather than four-year relationships,” said the 36-year-old Gill. “I don’t want to be the guy that once you could no longer lace up the cleats and strap up the helmet for me, you’re useless to me.”

Gill’s journey began in Houston, Texas where he was born and raised. Growing up in the inner city of Houston, he fell in love with the sport of football when he was six years old. 

If there is one thing that is universally known about Texas, football is everything in that state. As soon as Gill was old enough to start playing the sport, there was no going back.

“People in Texas are insane about football,” Gill said. “I was kind of bred into it, early on I already knew what I wanted to do. I definitely grew up in what you would call a football family.”

One of Gill’s main influences was his uncle, Prentice Gill.

The two have had a close bond ever since Nate Gill was a kid as he watched his uncle play high school football every week, igniting his passion for the sport. 

Reminiscing over their younger days, Gill’s uncle always knew his little nephew had a knack for sports. 

“When he was young, everything he wanted to do was sports related,” Prentice Gill said. “We used to receive the newspaper, he would be the first one to grab it and he would go straight to the sports section.”

Gill’s uncle was surprised by this.

“I thought it was kind of weird,” he continued. “When you’re a kid that age, you want to do other things like ride your bike and play. But he wanted to know everything about sports, he really wanted to dig deep inside it.”

During his playing career, Nate Gill mainly played running back and sometimes linebacker. After he graduated from Kashmere High School, he received a scholarship to Mayville State University. 

Even though Mayville State was over 1,300 miles away from Houston, Gill knew he was going to do whatever it took to continue being surrounded by football. Brenda Gill, Nate’s mother, knew he could withstand the long distance from home in order to pursue his career. 

“It was quite interesting, but I knew he would do good away from home,” she said. “He never gave me an ounce of trouble, he stays humbled and is very dedicated to what he is doing.”

Not only was Gill dedicated on the field, but off of it as well. He graduated from Mayville State University with a bachelor’s degree in physical education in 2009. 

It didn't stop there.

Gill received his Master’s degree in kinesiology from the University of North Dakota in 2012. Even though football was his main priority, he still kept academics high on the totem pole. 

Once his playing days were over, Gill took a year off in 2009 to teach at an elementary school back home in Houston. He quickly realized that it wasn’t for him, and luckily received an opportunity to become a graduate assistant for Mayville State University.

After his first two years of being an assistant coach, Gill was promoted to defensive coordinator at 24 years old.

“I was only 24, I had to have been the youngest defensive coordinator,” said an animated Gill. “It turns out I was the youngest guy in that role in the country. I think there were a couple of guys who were around 26 or 27, but I was 24 years old. The crazy part was I got that job, and pay raise, on my 24th birthday.” 

Gill would spend the next few years working multiple different coaching roles under Mayville State, but was eventually relieved of his duties in 2017. He then moved to Arizona in search of new coaching opportunities. 

A few months went by and he finally received a call from Sierra Linda High School, only the call wasn’t initially for a head coaching job, but rather a physical education teaching position.

Since taking the job meant he would still be a part of the football coaching staff, Gill reluctantly took the physical education job in hopes that he would work his way up the coaching tree yet again.

In 2018, Gill was named to his first head coaching job of his career when Sierra Linda announced he would be named head coach of the Bulldogs. He had the tough task of building a culture and winning games for the program, as the school was still fairly new at the time and never had a winning season.

“The program at that time was in such bad shape,” said Gill. “Our region was tough with Liberty, Centennial, Shadow Ridge and Willow Canyon." 

In his first game as head coach of Sierra Linda, Gill and the Bulldogs broke a 27-game losing streak. 

“I literally thought I was about to get a statue,” Gill said. “That’s how serious it was.”

After a few losing seasons, Gill shocked the state of Arizona in 2021 as he led the Bulldogs to their first ever winning season at 8-2. This feat would earn him the Arizona high school coach of the year award from the Arizona Republic. 

Gill made an immediate impact on the players for Sierra Linda as he taught them how to win on and off the field. One player in particular that was heavily impacted from that spectacular 2021 Bulldogs team was wide receiver Stephon Daily.

Daily, now in his senior year and verbally committed to Colorado State University, is one of Gill’s favorite players he's ever coached. He credits the former Bulldogs coach for helping him grow as a person.

“Traits that make him a good coach is he goes out of his way for the ones that he cares about,” Daily said. “He taught me many things like how to stay on top of my priorities with recruitment, how to look professional and most of all to not be selfish.”

Cedric Thomas, longtime mentor of Gill, took him under his wing when he was 13 years old. Thomas first coached Gill on a junior high football team in Houston, now he thinks he has all the right traits that make him a great football coach.  

“His attention to detail and preparation is what makes him stand out,” Thomas said. “He puts his all into everything, he cares about his kids and makes sure they are appreciative about the game.”

Once the story-like season came to an end for Sierra Linda in 2021, Gill received an even better head coaching opportunity from Desert Vista.

Desert Vista’s rich tradition and history is what really lured Gill into taking the job. The program hasn’t been as dominant as it was a few years ago and are hoping that he can take them back to that level. 

In his first season as head coach for Desert Vista, Gill would go 2-8. This is just year one, time will tell if he can steer the ship for yet another troubling football program.

Antonio Delgado, senior linebacker for the Thunder, thinks Gill helped him learn about the game of football tremendously.

“His honesty and just being straight forward is what makes him a great coach,” Delgado said. “I also would say that he can be a lenient coach and have fun, but at the same time he can lock in and dial it up for business.”

When it’s all said and done, Gill hopes that one day he earns his respect as a coach in the world of football. 

“Ultimately, I just want to be highly respected by the guys in my profession,” Gill said. “I want to be recognized as the guy that has done it the right way with a ton of class. As long as I’m respected amongst my peers, I can ride off into the sunset knowing that I’ve done what I’m supposed to do.”