As the new school year begins, we are proud to introduce a promising new Athletic Director to guide us into a great school year. Current Varsity football coach of 12 years, Saul Jimenez is joining us as first year Athletic Director. Jimenez hopes to bring our community together and he has a strong visual for every home game,event, and pep rally. With his new position, it requires much more responsibility, but he is confident that with dedication and hard work he will succeed.
Joseph Reed, our former Athletic Director, will always be remembered for his impactful contributions during his 12 years in the role. He successfully secured a $12,000 donation to help the football program recover stolen items, as well as a $2,500 grant from the LA Rams for improving the team’s GPA. Though Reed is no longer with us, he takes pride in his many achievements.
“It is an honor to say that our athletic program has not had bad publicity during my time as AD. I have always wanted to give back to athletics and appreciate the opportunity that I had to do so,” mentioned Reed
To further support our athletic community, Coach Jimenez plans to help out not just the football team but the other sports that are also struggling.
“What helped me and what motivated me to say yes when they offered me the position was the ability to help other student athletes not just my own,” stated Jimenez
Creating a more inclusive environment where everyone can thrive is important to strengthen our athletic community. As well as having a strong and positive mindset which includes more than just winning.
Coach Jimenez also believes this position has more responsibilities, since he was mainly in the classroom last year.
“My past job didn’t require the responsibility of all sports, I was mainly in the classroom. The biggest difference would be being pulled in 100 different directions in one day to take care of all sports.”
As a coach and a leader, Jimenez needs to set clear goals to help stay focused and be mindful of whats going on around him to help navigate the demands of overseeing multiple sports without feeling overwhelmed.
“A huge barrier is the lack of time throughout the day before I have to worry about football practice.”
Juggling multiple responsibilities makes it difficult to focus on one task efficiently. Recognizing this is important, but no matter what you need keep pushing forward and develop strategies to efficiently manage your time.
“If I didn’t have football, I think I would have been doing a better job even though things are going pretty smooth. That is my only barrier at the moment, but as long as students put in their part and keep their grades up I believe this season will be a good one.”
As long as both the students and the staff stay on track with putting in the effort on and off the field we can efficiently work towards a better season.
By Melanie Escalera, Sports Editor