After taking a year off, Terry Gourley is once again the head coach of the Grace Brethren football team.

Gourley, who spent last year as an assistant coach at College of the Canyons, is thrilled to be back with the Lancers.

"I've been working toward this since last offseason," Gourley said. "I talked about the decision with my family, and it seemed they all agreed I should come back."

Along with coaching the football team, Gourley previously served as the school's athletic director and head baseball coach as well as the president of the TriCounties Athletics Association.

Gourley said he decided to step down last year because of the heavy workload.

"I had to get my priorities straight," Gourley said. "I only live about a mile and a half away from the school, but it still seemed like I never saw my family. I love football, but I had to make sure it was in the right place in my life."

Gourley had coached the Lancers since 2004, when his team won the CIF-Southern Section Division XII championship. That same season he was named ABC-7/NFL High School Coach of the Year for Southern California.

The following year, in 2005, Grace Brethren posted an 11-3 record and won the Olympic League championship. The Lancers lost to Oaks Christian 49-0 in the CIF title game that season.

The 45-year-old coach said he will handle things differently the second time around.

"I'm going to be just as demanding as I ever was, but in a different way," Gourley said. "A lot of the coaches meetings will be at my house, and they won't be four or five hours long. I'm very excited to get back to work on Monday."