Tim Lins might be the last guy on the planet who wants to be featured in the newspaper. It just isn't his style.

Ask the Moorpark High head coach about his team's success and he'll almost immediately redirect the credit toward his coaching staff-guys like John Kidder, Ron Wilford, Dan DiNapoli, Rick Yancy, Mark Shihabi and Jerry Rohach.

"One of the things I learned real early is that there has to be a solid, dedicated group of men to build a program or to build a team," Lins said.

"I think there has to be dedicated guys that are willing to put the time in to the time in to build a program. We have that here, and to me that's kind of the start. I'm fortunate here that I'm surrounded by a bunch of good people that are real solid, excellent coaches. I think that's important."

Lins, it seems, has always been surrounded by quality leaders.

At St. Paul High in Santa Fe Springs, he played for Marion Ancich, who won more high school football games than any coach in California history.

"It was a very disciplined program," Lins said. "We competed at the highest level in the state of California and we won a lot of football games. I learned a lot from (Ancich) about organization and so forth."

Tim Lins Lins' playing career continued at Cal Lutheran, where he twice earned first-team NAIA All-American honors as a tight end.

At CLU, Lins was coached by Bob Shoup, a renowned offensive guru who won 184 games from 1962-89 and led his teams to five NAIA championship game appearances, winning a national title in 1971.

"Bob was a master of the passing game," he said. "I learned a lot about the passing game with him."

In 1984, Lins signed a free agent contract with the Los Angeles Express of the United States Football League (USFL).

While he only lasted three weeks in training camp before being released, Lins was tutored by Sid Gillman, the Express' offensive coordinator and a coach often credited for the evolution of the downfield passing game during his time with the San Diego Chargers.

Gillman's "teaching methods were incredible," Lins said. "His knowledge of the game was vast and his energy was incredible."

If his short stint in the USFL taught Lins one thing, it was that he wanted to become a football coach. He got the opportunity at Crespi High, where he worked under current Oaks Christian head coach Bill Redell for five seasons.

Lins isn't the only Marmonte League coach who's a Redell disciple. Thousand Oaks' Mike Sanders and Westlake's Jim Benkert also spent time at one point or another in their careers coaching for Oaks' main man.

"I learned a lot from (Redell)," Lins said. "I learned a

lot from all the guys that I've played for and coached for."

When he was 27, Lins took over as head coach at Crespi, a job he held for 10 seasons. During his tenure as head coach, Lins' Crespi teams went to the postseason seven times and won a Mission League championship.

"I was a little surprised to get the job (so young)," he said.

Prior to the 1999 season, Lins landed the head football job at Moorpark, where he also teaches physical education.

"I've always lived in Moorpark, and it was time for a change," he said. "Moorpark's always been a wonderful community, so it was just a great opportunity for me to be part of the high school."

While there have been many memorable moments for Lins at Moorpark, winning last season's Marmonte League championship-the school's first league football title since Wilford guided the Musketeers to the CIF Division X championship in 1997-is a memory that won't soon be forgotten.

"It was pretty exciting," Lins said. "The team grew up during the course of the year and it was fun to watch. It was fun to watch people become more interested in the general welfare of the team than individual statistics.

"That team really put a lot of things above themselves," he said. "They put the team first. It was fun to watch that develop. I think that was one of the secrets, one of the keys to our success."

Lins and his wife, MaryTherese, have two sons. Jake, 17, is a senior at MHS and, like his dad, plays tight end. Vernon, 15, will be a freshman this year.