Alhambra High School announced Monday that Eric Bergstrom, associate head football coach and offensive coordinator for Occidental College, will take over as new head football coach at AHS.

Bergstrom said Tuesday he is looking forward to the upcoming season and met with his players this week. The coach said that they are going to “play hard and play with a lot of energy.”

“We’re not thinking about the past,” Bergstrom said, referring to school officials' dismissal of the entire football coaching staff at AHS on July 9 after they provided several players with nutritional supplements. “We’re just focused on getting better every day.”

Former head coach Chuck Leonardis told the Pasadena Star-News that seven players from his team inquired about a supplement containing creatine, a muscle-building chemical. Leonardis says his staff provided them with the supplement but did not recommend its use.

Bergstrom graduated from UC Davis with a bachelor’s degree in communications while playing tight end on the school's football team for four years, according to Occidental College Athletics. He coached football at St. Mary’s High School in Stockton and Whittier College before landing a job with Occidental in 2004.