The recent hiring of Peter Gurule as Belen High School’s new softball coach (see story at left) is the first of several head coaching positions at the high school expected to be filled in the coming weeks and months.
Three coaching vacancies were created this year after a change in the Belen School District’s athletic handbook, which limits an individual to serving as head coach for only one sport.
“Basically why we did it was because we felt that with the way programs are being run nowadays, with so much emphasis on off-season programs, it’s difficult for a person to coach two separate sports,” Belen High School Athletic Director Danny Griego said. “We’d rather have that person focusing in on one sport and not be tied up with trying to do two sports at once. I don’t think they’re doing justice to both sports.”
The change to the handbook affected three coaches at BHS. Kevin Benavidez vacated his position as boys track and field coach in favor of football. David Medina, who stepped in last spring to fill the job as golf coach, will coach boys basketball, the sport he was initially hired to coach three seasons ago. And Nettie Salas, who filled a need for a softball coach two years ago, chose to remain as the girls soccer coach.
Two other coaching vacancies occurred when baseball coach Mike Gutierrez resigned last spring and wrestling coach Jerry Moya stepped down last month to accept a job as the strength and conditioning coach.
Gurule’s hiring as the Lady Eagles softball coach is the first of the five vacancies to be filled. Griego said he expects the baseball and wrestling positions will be filled at a special meeting of the school board on Tuesday, Aug. 6.
“One thing’s for sure — a Wisneski will be in the dugout next spring,” Griego quipped. Brothers Joe and Tom Wisneski, sons of former Eagle head coach Al Wisneski, who presently serves on the school board, were the only candidates interviewed for the head job last Thursday.
Griego said two people were interviewed for wrestling coach — long-time Los Lunas High School assistant Steven Chavez and Rodney Romero, who led the Aztec Tigers to the Class 4A title, coincidentally in Belen’s gymnasium, last February.
“Both had really excellent interviews,” Griego said. “We’re lucky to have had such good candidates to choose from, but it makes it a tough choice.”
Griego said the golf coaching position would be addressed sometime after the start of the school year. He said the athletic department has designs for Jim Edwards, who was hired a year ago to coach the Lady Eagle track and field team, to oversee both the boys and girls programs. “But that’s down the road a little bit more. We’ll deal with those issues once we get this other stuff taken care of,” he said.
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April 19, 2024
