While his two boys were growing up, Ron Shipley had a bit more than the typical father/son relationship with his sons.
While Shipley coached and taught at La Quinta High School, in the early 2000s, he coached his son, Jared, on the football field. Years later, Shipley became the athletic director and head football coach at Shadow Hills High, a few miles up the road on Jefferson Street in Indio, and there he coached his son, Jake.
Shipley said that one of his great rewards from coaching has been the opportunity to coach and spend that additional time with his sons to build their relationship in ways that likely wouldn’t have been possible otherwise.
Now again, with Jake, Shipley is entering a new chapter in their relationship as the two have begun coaching football together at Indio High School. Their first game coaching together will be Friday’s Mayor’s Cup rivalry contest against Shadow Hills.
“It’s rewarding for me as a dad,” Shipley said, “and as a coach we get to add Jake’s knowledge and experience and energy to our team.”
Shipley is the Rajahs’ athletics director and defensive coordinator, under head coach Lamont Thompson. Jake Shipley is coaching the defensive linemen, where he brings a level of expertise having played major college football at the University of Oregon from 2020-24 prior to starting at defensive end last season at North Texas University.
At practice on a recent Wednesday, Jake Shipley chest bumped players and ran with them to their drills, providing vocal instruction and a youthful energy and excitement to the group. He occasionally stepped over players to offer tips and encouragement.
After completing requirements for a California state teaching credential, Jake Shipley is now working at Indio High as a long-term sub. He plans to seek a permanent teaching position either at Indio High or somewhere else in one of the area’s three school districts.
“This is what I’ve always wanted to do,” Jake Shipley said. “I knew I wanted to teach and coach high school football, and now I get to do that with my dad. He’s always been a role model of mine, and I’m excited that I get to keep learning from him.”
Prior to Jake’s senior season at Shadow Hills, the Desert Sands School District required athletic directors who were also head football coaches to choose one job or the other. Ron Shipley chose to forfeit his position as athletics director to return to teaching so that he could coach Jake during his senior season. After the season, Shipley resigned as football coach and the following June he moved to Indio High to head its athletics department.
Shipley then became the Rajahs defensive coordinator, not the head coach, which allowed him the opportunity to continue coaching while also working as the school’s athletics director.
While the Rajahs broke a 20-year postseason drought in 2022, they have not yet returned to being the same program that won CIF Southern Section titles in 1979 and 1981. But it’s a great time to be at Indio High, following a years-long renovation completed in 2018. Indio now has the newest facilities among the public high schools in the valley.
Now the football team should benefit from the addition of Jake Shipley, who is young enough to relate to the players but experienced enough to mentor them.
“I’m not much older than them,” Jake Shipley said, “but they think of me as an old guy.”
Ron Shipley said that having Jake back in the valley has, on a personal level, made him very happy. The hope for the Rajahs is that his presence will also be rejuvenating for the program.
“It’s a blast to be a part of this team,” Jake Shipley said. “I’m here to help in any way I can.”
Andrew John covers sports for The Desert Sun and the USA TODAY Network. Email him at andrew.john@desertsun.com.
This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: ‘It’s a blast’: Ron and Jake Shipley reunited, but this time at Indio High School
Reporting by Andrew John, Palm Springs Desert Sun / Palm Springs Desert Sun
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
