Bio

Coach Lerma enters his 5th season on staff for the Panthers. He graduated from Hartnell in 2007 after participating in football/track & field. Coach Lerma played guard and center for the Panthers during the 2005-2006 seasons. In 2005, he was part of a Coast Conference Championship and on the winning side of the Graffiti Bowl. He graduated from North Salinas HS where he was a 3 sport athlete (Football/Track/Wrestling ). He was named North Salinas High- Athlete of the Year for the 2004-2005 season. After Hartnell, he attended the University of Redlands where he continued as a football player and a track athlete. He earned a Bachelors’ Degree in History and a minor in Physical Education. Coach Lerma is employed as a faculty member at North Monterey County HS. Over the years, he has been a coach at several local High Schools. He started at North Salinas HS in 2012 as a Freshman OL/DL coach. In 2013 he worked with the same group on the Junior Varsity squad and in 2014 he was the OL/DL coach for the Varsity. In 2015, he transitioned to Salinas HS as the Junior Varsity DL coach and in 2016 he was named the Varsity DL coach, eventually working his way into the Defensive Coordinator position at Salinas HS in 2017. During the 2017 season, Salinas HS won the MBL Gabilan Division and advanced to the State Tournament where they won the CCS, and eventually lost the Nor-Cal finals. In 2018, Coach Lerma rejoined North Salinas HS as the Defensive Coordinator.