Hayek named assistant principal, relinquishes AD duties

John Hayek’s two years as Fallbrook High School’s athletic director included some incidents of turmoil, but he was well-respected in that position. Higher-ranking figures within the Fallbrook Union High School District were also pleased with Hayek’s performance as athletic director, and his administrative skills were sought at a higher level.

On August 13 the Fallbrook Union High School District board confirmed Hayek’s appointment as assistant principal of Fallbrook High School, a promotion which caused Hayek to relinquish his athletic director duties.

“Administration is something that I’m interested in pursuing as a career,” Hayek said.

“I do feel certainly bittersweet about it because athletics has always been my first love,” Hayek said of trading his athletic director role for the assistant principal job. “I’m certainly going to miss the position.”

Hayek was selected to replace Heather Schulte as Fallbrook High School’s athletic director in July 2005. “He did a fantastic job as athletic director,” said Fallbrook Union High School District superintendent Tom Anthony.

Hayek also spent seven years as an English teacher at Fallbrook High School. He was the boys’ varsity soccer coach for four years and the athletic director for two years. Prior to joining the faculty of Fallbrook High School he spent six years as a soccer coach at De La Salle High School in Concord.

Hayek was a student and soccer player at De La Salle High School before coaching there. He graduated from De La Salle in 1994 and also played club soccer with CYSA-North Tri-Valley Premier, on which he was the captain of the 1994 team which won the State Cup championship. Hayek attended college at St. Mary’s, and in addition to being the Gaels’ starting midfielder for four years he also served as the De La Salle High School junior varsity coach during his four years as a college student-athlete. Hayek became De La Salle’s varsity coach for the 1998-99 and 1999-2000 seasons and also coached club soccer with Diablo Valley Soccer Club in Concord.

During his two years as De La Salle’s varsity soccer coach, the team won two league championships and had a 40-5-3 record. The 1998-99 team was ranked first in the CIF North Coast Section before a CIF quarterfinal loss, and the 1999-2000 team reached the CIF finals before losing in the championship match.

Hayek was Fallbrook High School’s junior varsity soccer coach in 2000-01 and 2001-02 and led the Warriors to two league championships. He had a 21-8 record with Fallbrook’s JV program before succeeding Waad Hirmez as the Warriors’ varsity head coach.

The CIF rules regarding the timetable for a sport’s first permissible practice do not apply to meetings which involve academic monitoring, and upon taking over the varsity soccer position Hayek held his first team meeting in August 2002 to review class schedules and grade point averages of potential players. Hayek also implemented a policy of obtaining weekly grade reports from any student with a grade point average under 3.0.

Although Hayek still lost three 2002-03 starters to academic ineligibility, the Warriors won the Avocado League championship with an 8-1-1 conference record and finished the season 13-4-3 after a quarterfinal playoff loss. Hayek was also able to draw between 400 and 500 fans to Fallbrook’s field for a home playoff match against Vista.

The Warriors also won the next two Avocado League championships and reached the CIF semifinals in 2003-04 and the CIF quarterfinals in 2004-05. Although Fallbrook’s streak of four consecutive league titles was snapped in 2005-06, the Warriors reached the CIF finals before a 2-1 loss to La Costa Canyon. Hayek’s four years as Fallbrook’s head varsity coach produced a record of 57-21-21, and he twice earned North County Coach of the Year honors from the North County Times.

Fallbrook cited family and other commitments when he stepped down as the boys’ soccer coach. He continued as the school’s athletic director and as the director of coaching for the Fallbrook Youth Soccer League.

During Hayek’s first year as athletic director, the school’s field hockey and baseball teams also reached the CIF finals, and the boys cross-country and boys swimming teams earned CIF runner-up finishes in multi-team championship meets. Eight Warrior teams won Avocado League championships or co-championships, and all but two of the high school’s teams were selected for berths in the CIF playoffs. More than two dozen 2006 seniors earned invitations to play collegiate sports.

“I think my time spent as an athletic director was really a chance to audit an administrative position,” Hayek said. “I feel like I’ve had two years to be a student of the administrative field, and it’s prepared me very well.”

Hayek oversaw 26 sports programs at Fallbrook High School and had a major role in the hiring of several varsity, junior varsity, and freshman head coaches in his two years as athletic director. His challenges included restoring confidence in a football program after booster club spending irregularities, a CIF decision that a transfer student was ineligible to play sports which caused the girls volleyball team to forfeit seven games, and the death of a coach’s family members in an automobile accident.

Hayek also undertook the financial challenges of the new stadium field turf and track surface, the eventual swimming pool replacement, and the project to refurbish of the old gymnasium as well as ongoing costs to field athletic teams. ”I certainly was involved with a lot of procedures,” Hayek said.

During the summer the high school had openings for two assistant principals. “We had a great group of people that applied,” Anthony said.

One of those was Hayek. “This administrative team we have at the high school is real solid, and I couldn’t pass up the opportunity of being part of Mr. King’s team,” Hayek said. “It’s a really great time to be a Warrior.”

Anthony noted that the athletic director and associated student body advisor positions are often stepping stones to assistant principal posts. Principal Rod King is responsible for breaking down the duties of the school’s assistant principals which include helping the principal with attendance, discipline, facilities, guidance and counseling, master schedules, and testing.

Although Hayek stepped down as the high school’s athletic director and is not teaching English, his experience as athletic director will be of use to his successor, Patrick Walker. “He’s going to be there to help the new person,” Anthony said.

Hayek will continue to coach Fallbrook Youth Soccer League teams, although he has stepped down as the FYSL director of coaching and currently coaches only two teams. Hayek plans to reduce that commitment to one team.

“I just think John is a real asset to Fallbrook High and look I forward to working with him,” Anthony said.