Benford and the Falcon program

In 2017, Bill Benford was named Folsom Lake College first head coach of their young history. After being an assistant at American River, Benford was starting the program from scratch. The everyday challenges are not describable but it was a challenge the head coach was ready to take on. The things he learned as an assistant coach were going to be put to the test. “Organization is one of the biggest things I learned from my time at American River,” added the Falcons head man. As for the new beginning, “We wanted to try and establish ourselves in a tough conference from the start,” recalls Benford. The Big 8 is one of the most competitive conferences each season and the school was going to have their hands full from the jump.

One of the challenges that Benford encountered was not having sophomores. As the Falcons did not have any sophomores, Benford still had to establish his culture. “Communication is a component to any relationship,” said Benford. On and off the court it is one trait that goes a long way in the program. The second staple to the Falcon culture was unselfishness and trusting each other. “Guys have to surrender in various forms to our coaching,” the head coach added. It is not only about surrendering, when bringing in players to the program the following year, coach looked for a certain type of players to fit his style. “One of the biggest things for our program is toughness and how well a player handles adversity,” added Benford

After a 7-21 season in 2019-2020 and a year off to covid, the Falcons will look to improve this upcoming season. The goals within the program are all things that will help out in the long run. Benford mentioned wanting to win the Sacramento area which helps recruiting and name awareness to our program. “At the end of the day winning our conference is a high priority, but we have to be relevant in our own back yard,” the Falcons coach added.