Valenzuela is Southwest’s new athletic director
The Central Union High School District recently appointed Ruben Valenzuela, a 19-year science teacher and coach at Southwest High School, as the Eagles’ new athletic director.
“I have my administrative credential but this is the job I really wanted to have at Southwest and I’m excited to have it,” said Valenzuela, who will be a teacher-on-special-assignment, a non-administrative position that includes teaching classes. “I don’t have a job, I have a vocation to work with young people … and I think I’m here to work with kids and to help give them a great program.”
Ironically, Valenzuela’s first major concern is to replace himself as the boys’ varsity basketball coach for a team that should make a strong run at an Imperial Valley League title.
“We’ll be looking at those applications soon,” said Valenzuela, who had the option to continue coaching. “The team has lots of potential and they need a coach to be committed to them and I couldn’t do them justice and be AD … it’s not about wins and losses but what’s best for them.”
Valenzuela should be looking for a coaching candidate as versatile as himself, as he has more than 19 years of leadership as head frosh and JV football coach and a varsity assistant.
He has also coached all three levels of girls’ basketball, varsity boys’ basketball and been head freshman and JV baseball coach and a varsity assistant.
“If their specialty is one sport and they will create a successful program, not just the x’s and o’s, and they want to continue and improve that’s what I’m looking for,” Valenzuela said looking at coaching candidates. “I would like to see that commitment from all my coaches, that it’s about the kids, that’s the commitment I’m looking for.” What is best for student-athletes is a recurring theme with Valenzuela, who has taken a positive approach to coaching starting when he coached baseball at Southwest under the late Mickey Carter.
“Now I hope I can have a positive effect on all the sports … and that we provide a positive program and help kids be successful adults,” Valenzuela said. “Life skills, teamwork and commitment to their team and that philosophy started with Mickey.”
The philosophy works for Valenzuela who brought Southwest their first girls IVL title as varsity basketball coach in 2003 and again in 2005.
Valenzuela then moved to boys basketball netting the Eagles their first boys sport IVL title in 2007 adding championship runs in ‘08, ‘09, ’11 and 2012.
Not bad for a coach who didn’t dream of being one.
“If you would have told me when I graduated from high school that I would be a teacher I would have said no,” said the 1984 Imperial High graduate who played football and baseball.
Instead Valenzuela headed to Imperial Valley College and studied science and played a year of baseball for the Arabs before taking a full-time job at Vons and getting married.
“I was coaching Little League and Pop Warner in Imperial and my wife (Janina) told me that I should do that as a job,” Valenzuela said.
“So I went back to college and an inspiration was my cousin Ray Alvarado who was the AD at Calexico … I told him I was going to take his job and in a way I have.”
Valenzuela’s first positions were teaching science and PE at the then Frank Wright Middle School and coaching boys’ soccer, basketball and softball at his alma mater before he moved to Southwest.
“I wanted to coach high school and there were no openings in Imperial,” Valenzuela said. “I coached because I enjoyed doing it and contributing to the programs … when I started getting paid it was a bonus.”
While elated with his new position, Valenzuela acknowledged that being athletic director is challenging.
“It’s a little overwhelming, there is a lot to learn,” Valenzuela said. “Fortunately I have great people to work with in athletic secretary Alma Jiminez and finance clerk Diana Richmond, who have been at Southwest since day one.”
Valenzuela also has already felt support from his fellow AD’s.
“The AD’s in the Southeastern Conference are all approachable and that support will be important and I’ve already gained some good perspective,” he said.
Valenzuela can also count, as he always has, on the support of his family.
“I’ve been fortunate to have had the support of my wife and my children,” he said. “Lucky my children are older so I don’t feel as much as like I’m choosing between family and being AD.”
Valenzuela becomes Southwest’s sixth athletic director in the schools’ twenty-plus year history replacing Joe Evangelist who finished up his second tenure (1995-2002, 2015-16) as the Eagles AD in June.
In the time between Evangelist’s two tours of duty, Greg Sakos, Ron Koenig, Craig Lyon and Carter all directed the Eagles athletic fortunes.