Mustangs’ Boker to play in all-star football game

Redmond High's James Boker, who graduated last Wednesday with the rest of the Mustang senior class, was recently selected to play in the renowned East-West All-Star game, a high school football showcase pitting the top players from the eastern and western halves of the state.

By Tim Watanabe • June 21, 2011 5:48 pm
Redmond High senior James Boker speaks to the crowd after earning the National Football Foundation's Scholar Athlete Award for the 2010 season at Qwest Field. Boker will play in the East-West All-Star game on July 1 at Eastern Washington University in Cheney and plans to walk on to the University of Washington football team this fall.
Redmond High senior James Boker speaks to the crowd after earning the National Football Foundation's Scholar Athlete Award for the 2010 season at Qwest Field. Boker will play in the East-West All-Star game on July 1 at Eastern Washington University in Cheney and plans to walk on to the University of Washington football team this fall.

Redmond High’s James Boker, who graduated last Wednesday with the rest of the Mustang senior class, was recently selected to play in the renowned East-West All-Star game, a high school football showcase pitting the top players from the eastern and western halves of the state.

The game will be held in Cheney at Eastern Washington University on July 1, and the 6-foot-5, 230-pound lineman is excited about the opportunity.

“It’s going to be a different atmosphere for me,” Boker said. “Everyone will be at such a high level of athleticism, there’s going to be a lot more competitiveness. You definitely have to push yourself harder to be in that starting position, because that’s definitely what I want.”

Boker will be arriving in Cheney on Monday to practice with the team and also get used to a new position, tight end, which he will get to play after being on the Mustangs’ offensive line last fall.

Back in February, Boker won an even more prestigious award when he was named one of just two National Football Foundation (NFF) Scholar Athletes, for his hard work and leadership on the gridiron, and in the classroom at Redmond High. Fellow teammate Michael Conforto was also selected to be in the pool of scholar athlete finalists, consisting of 89 players from the Seattle metro region.

Boker will receive a $2,000 scholarship from the Seattle chapter of the NFF to use when he attends the University of Washington next fall. He also plans to walk on to play football for the Huskies.

“I was really surprised,” said a humbled Boker on finding out he had won. “I had not expected to be the winner, especially during the banquet ceremony when they started reading the achievements of the other players. There were a lot of really good guys up there.”

NEW COACH, NEW FEEL

Without a doubt, the success of the Mustangs’ players can be traced at least in part to a reinvention of the football program, brought on by new head coach Jeff Chandler.

The veteran coach, who led Eastlake to a Kingco 4A title 10 years ago, recalled a moment late in the season where he was leaving the locker room, and Boker was addressing the squad.

“He was more of a leader amongst the kids than we really realized,” Chandler said. “I got to hear James speak to the team, and kids really responded well to that. He was a real positive influence and obviously a real strong talent, and a real leader.”

Likewise, Boker, who was on the players’ committee that helped interview new coaches for the position, realized almost instantly that Chandler would be a perfect fit for the program.

“From the beginning, he knew what he was he was talking about, and was very experienced,” Boker said. “Once he got into the program, it had a different feel and I knew it was going to be a lot more enjoyable, a really fun time.”

Not only did Chandler bring in a first-rate coaching staff with three ex-NFL players, but he also stood up for the relational side of coaching, building the groundwork for success.

“As soon as he took the head coaching job last spring, he started up meetings with the elected captains,” Boker recalled. “We met every Wednesday, built up leadership skills and (talked about) how we wanted this team to look, our goals. He really tried to connect with us and build a strong leadership foundation for our team.”

That foundation, combined with a work ethic that rivaled Kingco 4A powerhouses Bothell and Skyline, translated into four quality wins, including beating Woodinville for the first time “in maybe 10 years” according to Chandler, as well as Edmonds-Woodway, which was ranked in the top 10 early in the season.

Chandler expressed that turning Mustang football into a winning tradition will take time, and a true team effort that all involved must buy into.

“We just want to have high standards, believe in our kids, have high expectations and coach to those expectations,” Chandler said. “We’re not satisfied with being close. Holding the bar high and asking kids to strive to achieve that is important, but teaching and coaching to achieve to that is important. Football is a collaborative effort between coach and player, and at the high school level, families are involved too.”