Capital hires Salazar as athletic manager

Bookkeeper has experience with coaching, support roles

It took an extra week, but Capital High School has itself an athletic manager.

Santa Fe Public Schools athletic director Marc Ducharme said Ray Salazar was hired July 29 to take over for outgoing athletic manager Zeke Villegas, who held the post for nine years.

Salazar, a bookkeeper in the school district, is no stranger to athletics,

Ducharme said. He has been an assistant coach for Santa Fe High’s swimming and diving, soccer and golf. He is a Santa Fe High graduate and his daughter, Taylor Salazar, played basketball for the school from 2016-19.

Salazar also operated the scoreboards for football and basketball games, and even worked the chain gang on the sidelines.

His hire came about 10 days after the district’s initial hire, John Garcia, declined the job. Ducharme said Salazar

and Garcia were among a group of six who applied for the job since Villegas announced his resignation in June.

Villegas will still have a presence at both public high schools, as he runs Northern New Mexico Children’s Sports League and it uses the fields and gyms at both schools. It started initially as a Santa Fe football league but has grown over the past few years to include most of Northern New Mexico and expanded into cheerleading, volleyball and basketball.

Ducharme said he interviewed Salazar — just in case the initial candidate didn’t pan out.

“We found out Ray was interested, and we had him apply and interview,” Ducharme said. “The thing about him is that he knows the system, from scheduling buses and doing [purchase orders]. Plus, he knows a lot about athletics, since he’s done a lot of things.”

Those skills should come in handy, as Salazar will handle scheduling for all of Capital’s teams, obtain officials for games, help with supervising all events and games, plus assist with the day-to-day operations of the athletic department.