The Piedmont Highlander

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The Piedmont Highlander

The Piedmont Highlander

Mapes steps up to the plate as interim Athletic Director

Mapes+steps+up+to+the+plate+as+interim+Athletic+Director

After former athletic director Craig Best stepped down on Jan. 4, the administration opened the position to applicants. An interview panel of seven interviewed five candidates on Jan. 25 and they hope to announce the interim athletic director by Feb. 1.

Best became the athletic director at the beginning of last school year and requested a leave of absence, which the school board and superintendent approved, PHS principal Brent Daniels said.

Best did not go into the details about his decision to step down.

“I will say that it was a very difficult decision for me as I loved what I did,” Best said in an email. “Sometimes, though, personal principles weigh heavily on professional decisions.”

In the meantime, assistant principal Eric Mapes, who has been the administrator of the athletic department for the past two and a half years and worked closely with the athletic director, acted as the interim athletic director during the search.

“I’d like this person in place because we will start getting into playoffs and North Coast Section Championships,” Mapes said. “It’s important for the winter sports to have an athletic director, not an interim athletic director who is also the assistant principal.”

Meanwhile, the athletic department is proceeding with athletic programs just as they always have, Mapes said. After Best stepped down, Mapes, Daniels, Assistant Athletic Director Megan Hernandez and the coaches of winter and spring sports all increased their involvement in order to keep the athletics program running smoothly.DSC_0138

“There are a lot of people who care about Piedmont and Millennium athletics and we’re working closely as a group to make sure that happens,” Mapes said. “The most important thing for me is consistency.”

The temporary athletic director will serve for the remainder of the school year. The job will reopen before spring break, when the administration will conduct another hiring process to find a permanent replacement.

Because the change in athletic director was unanticipated and happened in the middle of the school year, the pool of applicants did not allow for individuals currently in contract to apply.

By opening up the position again later this spring, the administration will be able to review applications from those individuals.

“It will potentially allow us to cast a wider net of candidates to really make sure we have the right fit,” Daniels said. “We want to make sure we have the best individual.”

Daniels said that the person who is selected as the temporary athletic director will have the opportunity to apply for the position when the application reopens.

Daniels said that the administration is looking for an athletic director who understands that sports are a high priority for student athletes and is determined to provide a quality program. The administration also  want someone who has experience with parents, students and coaches, and realizes that each group has their own needs.

“I want somebody who is going to lift the program and keep it at a high level,” Mapes said.

Head men’s varsity basketball coach Chris Lavdiotis said that a successful athletic director should be a people person, support coaches and athletes and have the ability to get everyone on the same page.

“I think the transition will be getting familiar with as many people as possible so that he or she can get the support of all of the coaches to make his or her job easier,” Lavdiotis said.

Mapes said that the person who is hired will need to adjust quickly due to the start of spring sports on Feb. 8.

“There is going to be a learning curve,” Mapes said. “I will no longer be the interim athletic director but I will be working very closely with this person and so will Ms. Hernandez. It will be a team effort.”

Daniels acknowledged that there is anxiety from the community surrounding the transition.

“The hope is by communicating that we do have a timeline, that we do have candidates and that we are looking for the best highly qualified candidate for the position potentially can lower the anxiety,” Daniels said.

In the three years that Daniels has been principal at PHS, he has seen two athletic directors, and is now looking for a third.

“Ideally we would have greater stability in that position,” Daniels said. “Finding ways to attract and retain highly qualified staff is our vision, so throughout the interview process, one of the focuses we will have is just looking at long term plans for the candidates.”

Daniels, who played basketball and also coached a high school team, said that experience taught him that there can be unanticipated changes.

“I am just very happy and pleased with the work that Mr. Best brought to PHS,” Daniels said. “He will be missed. Through looking for an interim athletic director, it just reminds me how important it is for us to work together as a team.”

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