Today is the first official day for the start of fall sports at
San Benito High School. Free Lance sports editor John Reid asked
new Haybaler Athletic Director Randy Logue 10 pertinent questions
regarding his new position.
JR: Well, today is the first offical day of practice for San
Benito High sports. As the new athletic director for the school,
describe your emotions right now.
Today is the first official day for the start of fall sports at San Benito High School. Free Lance sports editor John Reid asked new Haybaler Athletic Director Randy Logue 10 pertinent questions regarding his new position.
JR: Well, today is the first offical day of practice for San Benito High sports. As the new athletic director for the school, describe your emotions right now.
RL: Obviously, I’m nervous from standpoint that I took care of the small details and that all the facilities are in place. We have some new coaches who are people whom I was involved in the hiring process. Then my wife and I have a baby due anytime, which means I might miss first couple days of practice. I’v very excited about this new era. We have a new principal and a new superintendent, too. It’s a new era at San Benito H.S. as a whole.
JR: Have there been any early problems yet and can you foresee any in the near future?
RL: We lost our varsity cheerleading coach two weeks ago and haven’t been able to secure any replacement. She is doing her student teaching. The freshmen and JV coaches have done a great job filling in. Facility-wise we’re ready to go, coaching-wise ready to go. Don’t have any big problems to start year off yet. Everybody has been very supportive at the school and has helped me a lot.
JR: You’ve been stern about your feelings about athletes playing club sports during their respective season, as well as, coaches coaching club sports. What is your policy regarding this matter?
RL: In talking with the principal, the biggest concern about a coach who is a club and high school coach is to make sure that they are fair in policies towards all the kids who try out. For example, if there are two kids of equal physical talent; one plays club and one does not. The decision should be ultimately based on tangible, runs faster, jumps higher, hits the ball farther.That the decisions for the last three or four kids are made fairly. As AD, I’m even more concerned becaue I have to answer to parents to why their kid didn’t make the team. Want to make sure every kid has fair and equal opportunity to make sport. Then there is the issure of overlapping with high school and club sports. i.e. In the springtime, there are sometimes kids on track who play club volleyball. We have cases where kids have literally missed high school competition to play club sport. That can’t be tolerated. There is complete agreement among coaches at the high school that the kids are committed to the sports during that season. I realize that parents have a lot of money involved in club teams. Our priorities are personal. We have a great group of dedicated coaches, who don’t lose sight of growth and development for kids.
JR: You are taking over, perhaps, the No. 1 athletic program for a public school in the Central Coast Section. How are you prepared to handle this chore?
RL: I spent a lot of time during the summer getting organized. Simple things, such as getting schedules arranged, officials, budget framework. I hired coaches. Laid a framework. I won’t go into details, but I’ve given the superintendent ideas for long-term, city-wide level fundraising. It’s a more organized approach, extra-curricular activity. I familiarized myself with CCS rules and have been working with Dave Tari, as far as paper work and ordering equipment. I’ve learned as much about job as I could. The AD’s in league have been helpful. And I’ve relied on my own coaching knowledge.
JR: Do you have all of your coaches in tact for the ’03-04 school year, or do you still need to hire some?
RL: I have all fall sports coaches and all the head coaches for the winter sports lined up. I still need assistants for some winter sports. I need a boys varsity head tennis coach for spring. I’m 99 per cent set.
JR: Have all the booster groups for each sport binded together as one as you wished or are they still going their own separate ways?
RL: Our goal is a unified booster organization. We don’t have it now and we haven’t begun talks with the football and basketball booster, etc. We desire a community foundation with all boosters included eventually. If all the boosters pooled their resources and ideas for fundraising, we would have no problem taking care of any budget shortfall. We’re looking for a Board with a Mission Statement. We need this to occur in order for our program to survive. When the budget-crunch comes it ffects all extra-curricular activities. The band and dance (groups) need to pool , with not only sports, but with all to work together to survive long-term and flourish.
JR: You’re not going to coach this year after many years of coaching Baler athletics. Can you handle not coaching?
RL: I don’t know if I can. When I stopped coaching football, the first game I went to, I was coaching from stands. After a couple of games, I enjoyed watching it and realized I didn’t have to worry about anything. I’m sure the first cross-country or first track meet I’ll feel that way, but I’ll probably be so busy just running program and won’t have time to miss it.
JR: What are your expectations for Haybaler athletics this year?
RL: When I first applied for the job of AD, I wrote up a three sets of goals. One, I’d like to win a combined 40 percent of all league-titles for the year. People tell me, ‘Why not all the league titles?’ but goals need to be realistic. Two, I’d like to win one section title during each sports season. One fall, winter, spring. Three, I want to try to have a balanced budget. Move towards becoming self-sufficient.
JR: Is there anything about your job which scares you?
One of things is not knowing everything which is involved in the job. I’d work my tail off and then something would come I didn’t expect or I would forget something. Or the first time I confront an angry parent, a referee didn’t show up, or I messed up on a schedule. There will be mistakes. And I’m a little afraid of mindset of parents that our job as coaches is to get their kids a college scholarship. Our job is to help them become better human beings. I’m all for kids going to college. Sports build character, keeps kids out of trouble, etc. I believe that with all my heart. And then there’s the possibility a player slips through the cracks eligibility-wise.
JR: The new rule as far as the CCS playoffs goes is that the private schools, such as Mitty and St. Francis, can not move up to Division I. What do you think of that?
RL: We’re so excited about that. Truth of it is, our girls volleyball and basketball teams have legitimate chances to win section championships and go on to NorCal’s and be successful there. It really opens the door for them. I’ve always felt that private schools aren’t playing in same playing field as us. One can’t have unfairness.
