Valley Christian is hiring former King’s Academy coach Dante Perez to be its next football coach, the school announced on Wednesday.
Perez takes over for longtime Valley Christian coach Mike Machado, who stepped down in December after 29 years. He helped lead TKA to a 27-15 record across four seasons and most recently went 9-2, which included a Central Coast Section Division II postseason berth.
The Knights won two league championships and Perez earned two Peninsula Athletic League De Anza Division coach of the year honors during his tenure.
“It is a dream come true to have the opportunity to return to the Valley Christian campus as the leader of the Warrior football program,” Perez said in a press release. “My time on the Skyway campus was deeply formative in my life.”
Perez is a 2006 graduate of Valley Christian and was a quarterback under Machado. He was a two-year varsity starter and won four CCS championships as a player.
Perez will try to revive a Valley Christian team that went 3-7 this past season. The Warriors have not finished a season with a winning record since 2021. Since the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, Valley Christian has gone 24-34.
Perez will become just the fifth coach in the storied program’s history.
“We had the opportunity to meet many great leaders during the process of selecting our next head football coach. Of course, Dante’s track record of championship success at every level of his playing and coaching career stood out to us during the process,” Valley Christian athletic director Ryan Realini said in the release. “As important, Dante is a living example of our school’s mission. His desire to serve our families and the broader community was evident in every interaction.”