There was a three-year stretch where the Golden West High School football team had as many coaches as seasons.
So when Travis Anderson was hired as the Trailblazers’ head coach after the 2021 campaign, one of his long-term goals was to provide stability up top — starting with his own leadership position.
Today, Anderson is the longest-tenured high school head football coach in Visalia, entering his fifth season at Golden West.
Along the way, the former Bullard and College of the Sequoias defensive back has established coaching consistency, continuity and familiarity, and also built impactful relationships with his players that extend beyond the gridiron.
That connection has transformed the Trailblazers into one of Tulare County’s elite programs.
During the past two seasons, no Visalia football team has won more games (19) than Golden West. Central Valley Christian and Redwood each have 13 wins during that same span. Mt. Whitney has three victories, and El Diamante one.
The Trailblazers went 10-2 in 2024, which included the program’s first outright conference championship, an East Yosemite League title, in more than 20 years. Then last season, Anderson’s squad finished 9-3 and advanced to the Central Section Division III quarterfinals before falling to eventual section, regional and state champion Kennedy-Delano.
“It’s awesome building a program,” Anderson said. “I think there were some great coaches that were here before me. Just renewing that tradition and building the program, keeping our standards to the highest level, continuing to build those levels from year to year, it’s been the greatest thing. The kids understand that standard. They build off that each and every year. That’s going to continue to grow our program.”
What makes Golden West home?
“The kids,” Anderson said. “First and foremost, the quality of the kids that we have. Great kids. I love to come to work every single day because of them. They understand what it takes to be successful on the field and in the classroom. The camaraderie that all the kids have with one another. They show up to work every single day, shake your hand, and put in the work. They’ll run through a wall for you. That’s the best thing about my job.”
The year before Anderson’s arrival, Golden West won just two games and missed the playoffs.
In his first season as head coach in 2022, the Trailblazers doubled that victory total, rolling to a 4-6 record. Although Golden West officially qualified for the playoffs that season, Anderson, with support from his administration, did not take his team into the postseason because it did not uphold the new standard Anderson had set for the program.
That tough decision eventually paid off.
Two seasons later, Golden West put together its best season in nearly a decade, capturing an undefeated EYL title en route to a 10-2 record.
The Trailblazers, who put together a 10-game winning streak that fall, won double-digit games for the first time since 2017 and also won their first playoff game in five years.
That success continued in 2025.
Behind record-setting quarterback Jayden Najera, Golden West and Redwood both tied for the most wins for a Visalia squad in 2025, each winning nine games.
During that run, Najera set the new all-time career passing yards record for a Visalia quarterback, upping his career totals to 6,503 yards and 75 touchdowns.
Anderson has been Najera’s head coach all four years.
What’s it like to have a coach provide that kind of stability?
“It’s been great,” said Najera, who will be entering his fourth season on varsity. “He saw something in me when I was a freshman. The relationship we have is unbreakable. We have such a good bond. He’s like another father figure in my life. We’re always texting. If I ever need anything, I know I can come to him.”
The Trailblazers are high achievers off the field as well.
Golden West ranked first among the section’s football teams during the 2025 season for team GPA, averaging a collective 3.5. The year prior, the Trailblazers finished second in team GPA.
Former EYL championship coach Nathan Chamberlain, who was the head coach at Mt. Whitney from 2019-25, is now at Golden West, serving as an assistant offensive line coach under Anderson.
The two have history, too.
Anderson was an assistant during Chamberlain’s head-coaching run at Mt. Whitney.
Chamberlain is one of three Golden West assistants who have previous head-coaching experience, along with Mike Machado (Mission Oak/Porterville) and Marco Gutierrez (Farmersville).
Former COS, Redwood, and El Diamante assistant Brian MacDonald is now also coaching the defensive line at Golden West.
MacDonald coached at El Diamante under former head coach Roger Kelly when the Miners won two Central Section Division II championships in 2007 and 2013.
“It’s great having coaches that have prior head-coaching experience,” Anderson said. “The things that I don’t know, still being a young coach, because I don’t know everything, I can lean on these guys who have different experiences. It’s a great thing for me. I can grow and mature within my coaching abilities. I can lean on these guys when things are going wrong, when you just need a little bump; those guys can help you and mentor you through things.”
Najera will lead the team as a senior, along with senior receiver/defensive back Connor Cain, senior wideout Matthew Garcia and sophomore defensive back/receiver Parker MacDonald — assistant coach MacDonald’s son.
Starting junior left tackle Kaleb Matthews will anchor the trenches. The 6-foot-5, 280-pound Matthews has a scholarship offer from UNLV.
“He’s a kid who’s had a tremendous offseason,” Anderson said of Matthews. “We’re expecting a lot of big things from him.”
The Trailblazers open the 2026 season at Buchanan on Aug. 21 at Veterans Memorial Stadium in Clovis. A Visalia public school has not defeated a Clovis program on the gridiron since 2017, when Redwood topped Clovis East 36-14 at Mineral King Bowl.
That game will mark the first time in more than two decades that Golden West is playing a Clovis school. In 2004, eventual section champion Clovis West beat Golden West 45-0 in the Central Section Division I playoffs.
Golden West Trailblazers
Head coach: Travis Anderson, fifth season
Coaching staff: Mike Machado (offensive coordinator), Joe Torres, Nathan Chamberlain, Brian MacDonald, Alex Ledesma, Marco Gutierrez, Brendan Feder, Ricky Elias, Joseph Lema, Kellen Kennedy
Roster size: 55
Base offense/defense: Spread/3-3-5
2025 record: 9-3 (lost to Kennedy-Delano in Central Section Division III quarterfinals)
Impact players: QB Jayden Najera, WR/DB Connor Cain, WR Matthew Garcia, DB/WR Parker MacDonald, OL Kaleb Matthews
Schedule
This article originally appeared on Visalia Times-Delta: Why Golden West football is winning under Anderson
Reporting by Vongni Yang, Visalia Times-Delta / Visalia Times-Delta
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Vongni Yang, Visalia Times-Delta | USA TODAY Network
