New Columbia HS head football coach seeks to establish foundation, culture for the program

MAPLEWOOD/SOUTH ORANGE, NJ — Lys Rubens Blanc understands the adage, “Rome wasn’t built in a day.”

The recently-named new Columbia High School head football coach recognizes that the program he inherits has suffered through a lot of bad seasons, including last fall, when the team lost its final seven games and finished 1-7.

But by establishing a football culture, Blanc is confident the Cougars will eventually become contenders.

“I’m excited,” said Blanc, whose first name is pronounced ‘lease.“ “It’s a great opportunity for me. It’s my first head-coaching job, my first opportunity. The kids are great. But there is a lot of work. I understand. I’m just starting to put it all together.”

Blanc, in fact, is returning to CHS. He was an assistant football coach for the program for one season in 2013, which was the final season for late head coach/athletic director Dave Curtin.

Blanc graduated from Irvington High School in 2003, and played for then-head coach Darnell Grant, an Irvington graduate who later went on to win state sectional championships at Shabazz. Grant is the current head coach at West Orange High School, where he led the program to the North Jersey, Section 2, Group 5 state championship in 2022 in his fourth year at the helm. It was also their first-ever state sectional final. Grant led WOHS to the North 1, Group 5 state sectional final last year, but the team lost to East Orange Campus, 13-7, at home.

For the past few seasons, Blanc was an assistant coach at Hillside, under Barris Grant, Darnell’s brother and another Irvington HS graduate.

Blanc said playing for Darnell Grant “was amazing. He is still my mentor. We had a conversation on Friday, (Feb. 7) about my next step as a head coach, so he’s always been guiding me, from throughout, as a teenager until now, he and his brother, Barris. They have both been guiding me. They have been pushing me to be a head coach. They are the ones telling me how my program should be, the structure and what should be my main point. It’s been amazing. It’s a blessing.”

Blanc was the safety coach and special teams coordinator at Hillside, which has also won state sectional championships under Barris Grant.

Blanc isn’t naive to think the program can become championship-caliber next season, but he knows what he wants to initially accomplish.

“The main goal is to establish stability and get the players to compete,” said Blanc, who played collegiately at Kean University as a cornerback. “I want to establish a culture, establish a foundation, before anything else. Establishing consistency, establishing a football culture, is my main task.”

Establishing a football culture requires team-building, understanding what hard work entails and establishing a structure. Blanc is starting an “academic push” which involves a tutoring program for his players who need to build up their grades.

This summer, Blanc is planning to enter his team in several 7-on-7s, such as at West Orange, the New York Jets and Rutgers. He also is looking for his team to enter the 7-on-7 at Bergen Catholic, which finished as the No. 1 team in the state last year. The Cougars will begin the season in Week 0.

The players’ enthusiasm is evident. A few players who quit last year have decided to rejoin the team, Blanc said.

In addition, Blanc said a much-needed feeder program will be started, with the creation of a middle school team next school year, with the help of first-year CHS athletic director Sjocquelyn Winstead. The middle school team is looking to join a league, probably in Union County, Blanc said.

Right now, Blanc is in what he says is the “honeymoon stage.” He is confident the program is heading in the right direction.

“We have to establish a culture, establish a foundation,” he said.  We have to prove that we can compete, first, and then I’ll start adding on the goals after that.”

Photo Courtesy of Lys Rubens Blanc

  Columbia High School football