Baker head coach Jason Thoren walks toward a player during a summer camp Wednesday morning at Free State on June 26, 2019.

Things at Lawrence High School are pretty different from how they were in the 1990s when Jason Thoren attended. Where he would’ve said Olathe North is Lawrence’s biggest rival, current Lions would say Free State. Even the interior of the school looks drastically different.

But what hasn’t changed is the tradition of the program and the impact the school and its football program have on the community and its players. As an alumnus, Thoren knows how special the place is, and he’s taking over the head coaching position with the goal of leading the program to some of the success on the football field he had when he was a Lion.

“From the time I was a very little kid, this place has been special to me,” Thoren said. “There are a lot of people that love this place as much as I do, and what’s special to me is all those traditions that made us great. That’s what Lawrence is. This football program is bigger than any one person.”

Thoren has maintained connections to the school throughout his coaching career. He found out about the job opening while he and the UConn football coaching staff were preparing for a bowl game against North Carolina and knew he would be interested. A few months later, Thoren got the job.

For the last six years, Thoren has coached at Baker, Mississippi State and UConn. Those programs gave Thoren a wide range of ideas and perspectives on coaching and leading a team.

His time learning how to be a head coach on the job and applying that experience to different programs gave Thoren a lot of perspective on handling the position.

“The first time you (are a head coach) is pretty nerve-wracking, but I was fortunate enough to get a few years of experience there,” Thoren said. “I’ve learned a lot of great things through the course of six years, and so I think it all just helps.”

When it comes to Lawrence, Thoren wants his teams to be fast and physical. As a former defensive player for Lawrence and the University of Kansas, Thoren can understand from the players’ side how beneficial it is to have schemes remain simple so players can react quicker and not think during the play. Thoren said the worst thing a coach can do is to bog down a player with too much information that slows them down. He said it boils down to wanting the team to look like they’re playing backyard football.

“I always kind of revert back to, ‘OK, what did I know when I was their age?'” Thoren said. “What can we do, what can’t we do as far as teaching? But the same thing always applies… you want to be fast, you want them to be physical, and you don’t want them trying to think a whole lot.”

Coaching and teaching football has changed a fair amount since Thoren’s days. Most kids enter high school having played a lot of football video games like Madden. While that isn’t the most complete translation of football, the game provides kids with a lot of the basics. They understand what Cover 2 or Cover 3 defenses are, and they know what routes and plays work best against them. They can recognize formations and certain passing concepts, which helps them understand how it translates to the actual sport.

“From a scheme standpoint, they’re much further along than we ever were,” Thoren said. “Now, they might not play as much on their own, so fundamentally, we may have been better, and mentally they may be better.”

While Thoren only has a small amount of high school coaching experience, the coaching experience he does have translates well to high school. From high school to college to professional football, all coaches work on teaching fundamentals. In high school, that’s the bread and butter of the job.

As a part of the Sunflower League, Thoren and the Lions are going to face a wide range of schemes and play styles offensively and defensively. One week they might face a team that uses an old-school wing-T offense, and the next they might face a team that runs a modern spread offense.

That’s where those fundamentals for the team come into play, and it’s where Thoren’s experience at Baker comes in to help. With the Wildcats, he dealt with a similar situation with a range of styles of play as the team’s defensive coordinator and later head coach. It’s a challenge that Thoren is excited to take on.

“That’s the fun of it,” Thoren said. “On our end, seeing new things and how do you have to adjust to it and whatnot. It’s all subtle, but, to me, that’s the enjoyment of it is figuring that stuff out.”

Thoren started on the job this past week and met the players and coaches and is starting the process of building out camp dates and playbook installs. There’s a lot to do and figure out in the next few months before the season starts, but it’s an exciting time. He’s back a the place where his career started giving back to the next generation of Lions. For Thoren, that’s what it’s all about.