Steve Belles
Steve Belles (born November 21, 1966) is a former American football quarterback with the Arizona Rattlers of the Arena Football League (AFL). He subsequently became a high school football coach in Arizona, amassing five state championships at Hamilton High School in Chandler. Playing careerBelles attended St. Mary's High School in Phoenix, where in 1984 he won a state championship and was named Arizona High School Player of the Year. He played college football at the University of Notre Dame.[1] After college he played one season with the Arizona Rattlers of the Arena Football League.[2] He was also offensive coordinator of the Rattlers in 1993 and played in Europe for the Ravenna Chiefs in 1991.[1] Coaching careerBelles has been a head coach at three Arizona high schools: Desert Mountain High School in Scottsdale, Mountain Ridge High School in Glendale, and most recently Hamilton High School in Chandler. He was at Desert Mountain from 1995 to 2000 with a 26-25 record.[3][4] At Mountain Ridge, where he was head coach from 2000 to 2006 with a 47-13 record,[4] his team advanced to the state finals in 2004 against his future team, Hamilton High School, losing 37–7.[5] Belles became the head football coach at Hamilton in 2006 after John Wrenn left to become Arizona State University's running backs coach.[6][7] He was instantly successful there with a 13–1 record, Fiesta Region Title, and an Arizona State Championship in his first season.[5] Belles amassed a 131–18 record as coach, including five State Championships at Hamilton, and Arizona's big school state record 53-game win streak.[8] During his tenure, Hamilton was ranked as high as fourth in the nation by the USA Today Super 25.[5] As a head coach, Belles has a 204–56 record. As a result of a hazing scandal at Hamilton becoming public in 2017, Chandler Unified School District suspended Belles as coach before the start of the football season.[9][10] He remained at the school as a teacher[11][12] until September, when he was reassigned to the district offices,[13] and in December the head coach position was advertised with the Arizona Interscholastic Association.[14] On June 25, 2018, Belles announced he would become an assistant coach at Juan Diego Catholic High School in Draper, Utah responsible for the quarterbacks and defensive back positions.[15] References
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