Crime & Safety
Tesoro QB Coach Fired After Heroin Use
Nick Nelson was being terminated even before he went to trial following his arrest in Lake Forest.
Nikolas "Nick" Nelson, the quarterback coach at Tesoro High since the 2009 season, has been fired by the Capistrano Unified School District following his conviction for using heroin.
The confirmation came on Wednesday as Nelson's name appeared buried deep in the agenda of the June 12 meeting of the school district's board of trustees.
His separation date, according to the agenda, was May 28, the day before he pled guilty to a felony charge of possessing drugs and a misdemeanor charge of possessing drug paraphernalia.
Nelson was sentenced to an 18-month drug diversion program.
Nelson, 26, was arrested early May 24 after the Orange County Sheriff's Department was notified by a woman at 12:53 a.m., that her son was smoking heroin in the bathroom of her Lake Forest residence. According to the blotter of the OCSD, the woman indicated that Nelson got into an argument with his younger brother and attempted to punch him. The brother had been trying to intervene.
Nelson had been hired Aug. 10, 2009, as a walk-on coach at Tesoro High. He had been the quarterback who led the Titans to their first football championship during his senior year in 2004. He then was one of the top junior college quarterbacks in the nation, rated No. 12 in the community college ranks by J.C. Gridwire, while at Saddleback College. He attended Colorado, but played only one season, 2007, which consisted of three completions on six pass attempts.
He had the misfortune of being at Colorado at the same time Dan Hawkins was the head coach; Hawkins also recruited his son, Cody Hawkins, and the freshman was chosen to play over the bigger and more experienced Nelson.
Nelson did not play in 2008, but was back at his alma mater in 2009 as a coach.
Nelson was hired as a high school coach by head coach Brian Barnes, who coincidentally was fired by the district with one South Coast League game remaining in the 2012 season.
Barnes' removal had nothing to do with Nelson.
Nelson became one of several local south Orange County football coaches since 2010 who pled guilty to drug-related charges. All were assistants.
Sean Coen and Robert Hendricks of Santa Margarita Catholic and Charles "Chachi" Spann of St. Margaret's pled guilty in September, 2011 to misdemeanor possession and cultivation of marijuana for their role in a plant growing operation at their residence in San Juan Capistrano; they had been arrested in December, 2010. They continued to coach through the end of the 2011 season.
Coen and Hendricks were fired following the team's State Bowl Championship season after their situation became publicized. Spann, who had a prescription for medicinal marijuana, was fired after it was learned he had additional drug charges in August, 2011. All had their original charges dismissed after completing a 90-day work furlough program and 18 months of probation.
Kevin Orton, an assistant golf coach and junior varsity football coach at Santa Margarita, pled guilty in February, 2012, to possessing a controlled substance and was sentenced to an 18-month drug diversion program. Orton was behind the wheel of a Cadillac limousine and tested positive for cocaine after being approached by Orange County Sheriff deputies.
Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.