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Finding a job was relatively easy for Pat Haxton, particularly since he wasn't really looking.

After 11 years as a teacher and head football coach at Southeast of Saline High School, Haxton was officially named head coach of Valley Center's football program on Tuesday.

The most successful coach in Southeast football history, Haxton will leave his position with the Trojans at the end of the current school year.

It wasn't an easy decision to make, according to Haxton, who never applied for another job during his time at Southeast until hearing about the Valley Center opening in December.

"I love Southeast and didn't go looking for jobs this winter," Haxton said. "I heard about the Valley Center position and happened to call about it.

"It was the first job I called about in my 11 years here, and everything just clicked. I quickly put a resume together and interviewed on January 25th, and they offered me the job last Thursday.

"Valley Center is one of those special jobs. They are giving me a lot of control and a lot of things you can't have right now in a lot of districts with budget concerns."

Haxton had discussed a possible move with his wife and children in recent weeks, but once the offer was made, the father of four wanted to make sure Valley Center would be a good place for his family to relocate.

Haxton's oldest child, Taylor, will graduate from Southeast this spring. They have another son who will be a junior at Valley Center next fall, and twins who will start sixth grade at their new school.

"We had discussed it a lot by that point," Haxton said. "I still wanted to make sure it was the right thing for me and my family. I drove down to Valley Center, went to church and drove around the community.

"It was a bigger move for my wife and kids than for me. I think for the most part we're all really, really comfortable with it."

Haxton has more victories at Southeast than any football coach in the program's history. In Haxton's 11 seasons, the Trojans went 68-46 and made six playoff appearances.

"He's done a great job for Southeast of Saline in his tenure here," Southeast athletic director Wayne Sager said. "The kids performed well for him, and he's a tremendous motivator.

"This is an opportunity for him and we've talked about it quite a bit. It seems like a very good opportunity for a person that I consider to be a very good coach."

Haxton did not have head coaching experience when he took the job at Southeast. He had spent the previous seven seasons as an assistant coach at Junction City High School, but the Southeast administration was willing to take a chance on an unproven, yet highly motivated individual.

"They really took a leap of faith when they hired me at Southeast," Haxton said. "They took the word of some of the people I worked with at Junction City and hired me off that.

"(Former superintendent) Dr. Bob Goodwin hired me and was so supportive early on. He took that leap of faith, and I'm so happy he did."

It took four years at Southeast before Haxton had his first winning season. The Trojans were 7-20 in those first three years, including an 0-9 mark his first year.

"I think the administration saw that I was going to work and working hard every day," Haxton said. "The kids were starting to buy into what we were doing and we would eventually get things turned around.

"There were some hard times and things being said, but even when we were losing at the beginning, I never lost faith and I never lost the support of the administration. I can't ever repay them for that."

Southeast set a single-season school record for victories in 2002, Haxton's fourth season, when the Trojans went 9-3. They surpassed that in 2004, going unbeaten in the regular season and reaching the Class 3A quarterfinals.

A year later, Haxton led his team to the school's first state title, defeating Silver Lake in the 3A title game, 30-28. The Trojans won their first 10 games during the 2006 season, giving them a school record 23-game winning streak before falling in the second round of the playoffs.

The Trojans had a postseason record of 10-5 under Haxton. In 30 seasons prior to Haxton's arrival, Southeast had only one playoff victory.

Southeast went 8-2 during the 2009 season and won the North Central Activities Association title. The Trojans, who had 17 seniors on the roster, lost in the opening round of the 3A playoffs to Hutchinson Trinity.

Haxton will replace John Black, who resigned as Valley Center'S head coach in December after three seasons with the Hornets' program. Valley Center was 5-22 during the last three seasons, including an 0-9 record in 2009.

"It's going to have to be a cultural change down there, the way it sounds to me," Haxton said. "Everybody is going to have to learn what it takes to be champions. My job is to work with the kids and make them understand, but it's also going to take an effort from the administration, the rest of the faculty and the community.

"Everyone has to be involved to make it work."

"I think he relishes the opportunity," Sager said. "The expectations at Valley Center may be fairly low, I would think, but with his personality and motivational skills, he's going to go in there and bring high energy. That's the way Pat Haxton is."

Sager said Southeast will wait to receive confirmation from the district superintendent or board of education as to if and when they can begin a search to fill Haxton's teaching and coaching positions.

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