Cathedral City — Moments after Rich McClure was introduced as the new Cathedral City High School football coach at a school pep rally, he made a statement that got the crowd roaring.

“How did I do with the tie? Did I get the right color?” McClure asked the students about his blue tie.

The crowd cheered with approval.

“My wife was concerned it wasn't the right shade, and this is all I said, ‘It doesn't matter. It's not red,' ” said McClure, referring to the color of the Lions' chief rival, Palm Springs.

McClure was most recently wearing orange as the offensive coordinator at San Jacinto High School, where he also taught physical education and coached track, but he jumped at the opportunity to coach at Cathedral City when the position opened in December.

The Lions have struggled recently, but McClure has experience building champions.

McClure, 47, was part of a successful program at San Jacinto. He was an assistant for six years, serving as the offensive coordinator for the last three. The Tigers were defeated in the CIF East Valley Division title game in 2006 and 2007 before their league moved up to the Eastern Division, which includes the Desert Valley League. San Jacinto lost in the first round of the playoffs the past two years.

McClure is aware of the level of competition in the desert, and he praised the job that coaches have done establishing programs here.

“The league speaks for itself,” McClure said. “It's an opportunity to participate against the best teams in our division.”

The Lions haven't fared well in the last two seasons. Their last DVL victory was in 2007.

McClure is eager for the challenge. The Kansas native was the strength and conditioning coach at Northern Arizona University for 11 years before moving to California, and he has used his expertise to coach some impressive athletes.

When he was teaching P.E. at San Jacinto, McClure saw that one of his freshman students had athletic potential. Sarah Robles hated throwing the discus at first, but she worked hard enough to become the CIF state champion in 2005.

Now, Robles is the No. 2 ranked female American weightlifter, and she is training to make the 2012 Olympic team.

McClure also helped to guide Ryan Dannewitz, who was an eager 6-foot-5, 190-pound freshman offensive lineman at San Jacinto. He earned a scholarship to Colorado, where he was the backup left tackle as a 6-foot-6, 300-pound redshirt freshman this fall.

McClure was selfless when he talked about his students' achievements.

“It's not about me,” he said.

What he can do is motivate his students.

“Everybody wants to find the magic,” he said. “The magic is getting people to work, getting them to show up and make the commitment.”

McClure is also planning to teach physical education at Cathedral City. He is currently going through a separate hiring process for that position, principal Guillermo Chavez said.