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Ronquillo replaces Randy Swilley, who stepped down in December after five seasons coaching the Tornados, who went 5-5 in 2012.
The high school will introduce Ronquillo at its Performing Arts Center at 7 p.m. Thursday. The event is open to the public.
Ronquillo, 37, said the jump to Yelm was a family decision, noting extended family lives in the Olympia area as well as the Interstate 5 corridor.
“We always planned on living close to family and keeping the cousins close,” Ronquillo said.
Ronquillo said his wife, Christine, and their two sons, 8-year-old Kyler and 3-year-old Marcus, will make the move to Yelm area soon. His eldest son, Jerid, was a standout athlete at Hoquiam before graduating in 2011. He recently wrapped up his freshman season playing basketball at Columbia Basin College.
In six seasons at Hoquiam, Ronquillo’s best seasons were the past three, leading the Grizzlies to a combined 25-8 mark as a Class 1A program in the 1A Southwest Washington Evergreen Division, after moving down from the 2A Evergreen Conference.
This past fall, Hoquiam won its first league title outright since 1979 and advanced to the first round of the 1A state playoffs each of the past three seasons.
The first items on Ronquillo’s agenda at Yelm include getting the right athletes out for football, establishing strong work ethics and “teaching players how to compete on the field and learning how to win with effort, execution and focusing on the process.”
“I think the community of Yelm wants a successful football program and I’m going to work my hardest to make that a reality,” said Ronquillo, who plans to run a multiple-set offense that emphasises the no-huddle philosophy.
Competing in Class 4A for the first time, Yelm had its best season since 2006 this fall, as the Tornados were one win shy of making the postseason. Ronquillo also will teach physical education at the high school.
