Jim Benkert (born January 31, 1958) is an American high school football coach who has held head coaching positions at Westlake High School,

Oaks Christian High School Oaks Christian School (OCS) is a co-educational, college-preparatory, non-denominational Christian school serving grades 4–12. Oaks Christian School is located on in Westlake Village, Los Angeles County, California. The school was establishe ...

, and

Simi Valley High School Simi Valley High School (SVHS) is a public high school in Simi Valley, California. The school is part of the Simi Valley Unified School District and is located on the east side of the city. History Simi Valley High School was established in 192 ...

in California. During his tenure at Westlake High School, Benkert led the football team to four CIF Southern Section championships in 1999, 2003, 2009, and 2011. In 2015, he transitioned to Oaks Christian, where he led the team to a

CIF Southern Section The California Interscholastic Federation-Southern Section (CIF-SS) is the governing body for high school athletics in most of Southern California and is the largest of the ten sections that comprise the California Interscholastic Federation (CI ...

(division II) title in 2017. In 2018, he was hired by Simi Valley, where he led the school to a

(division six) title in 2023. Many of his former players have advanced to college and professional football careers, including

Zach Charbonnet Zachariah Charbonnet ( ; born January 8, 2001) is an American professional football running back for the Seattle Seahawks of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Michigan Wolverines and UCLA Bruins. He was a two ...

, Mike Seidman, Greg Newman,

Rudy Carpenter Rudy Carpenter (born April 15, 1986) is an American former professional football quarterback. He was signed by the Dallas Cowboys as an undrafted free agent in 2009. He played college football at Arizona State. Early life Carpenter led Westlak ...

, Nelson Spruce among others.

Education and early career

Benkert was born in Inglewood, California, he earned his B.A. from

California State University, Northridge California State University, Northridge (CSUN or Cal State Northridge), is a public university in the Northridge neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, United States. With a total enrollment of 36,848 students (as of Fall 2024), it has the ...

(CSUN) in 1982, attended

California Lutheran University California Lutheran University (CLU, Cal Lutheran, or Cal Lu) is a private university in Thousand Oaks, California, United States. It was founded in 1959 and is affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, but is nonsectarian. It o ...

in 1990, and completed an M.A. from

Grand Canyon University Grand Canyon University (GCU) is a Private university, private For-profit higher education in the United States, for-profit Christian university in Phoenix, Arizona. The university offers degrees in over 200 areas of study and is administrativel ...

in 2000. He began coaching football at Crespi High School as an assistant. In 1989, he became the head coach at Westlake High School.

Awards and recognition

In December 2023, Benkert was named the Los Angeles Times High School Football Coach of the Year, recognizing his achievements at Simi Valley and his overall contributions to high school football in Southern California. In addition to his coaching accolades, Benkert was inducted into the Ventura County Sports Hall of Fame, which honors individuals who have made significant contributions to sports in Ventura County. Throughout his career, Benkert has received several coaching awards, including multiple Ventura County Coach of the Year honors and recognition as the CIF Southern Section Coach of the Year. Benkert has over three hundred career wins.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Benkert, Jim 1958 births Living people High school football coaches in California Coaches of American football from California People from Inglewood, California People from Westlake Village, California California State University, Northridge alumni California Lutheran University alumni Grand Canyon University alumni