Soccer, golf, cheer and cross country gain new coaches for this year’s seasons
This year’s new coaches at VHS include Todd Tackett, Mondo Sifuentes, Paola Avila and Aaron Torres. These coaches have all had past coaching experience, being athletes themselves as well as coaching at different schools and after school teams.
Tackett, VHS’s only returning coach this year, has come back to the girls soccer team after one year off. Tackett said, “I’m hoping to bring back the sense of pride and commitment and getting the team to want to have success and build on that to where hopefully we can make the playoffs and make a deep run into the playoffs and possibly bring back a championship for Ventura.” With his 35 years of experience coaching both girls and boys sports, Tackett is predicting that he will continue with the VHS girls’ soccer team for about three to five years. Tackett is also a teacher on campus teaching history this year. The team has already had one tryout the second week of school and is to have another Nov. 10 for multiathletes currently in a fall sport.
It is Coach Mondo’s first year coaching boys golf at VHS. Mondo wants to make it to CIF and better his students. Mondo said, “I’ve been playing golf for a few years now. I golf around with my friends, a lot of my co-workers. But, yeah, I love golf. I always watch golf. I got into it because just playing college football, a lot of your teammates…just hang out on the weekends, play some golf. That’s kind of kind of how I got into it.” Golf tryouts are estimated to take place in late Nov. to Dec. where he will be keeping his eye out for athletes who are ambitious about improvement and winning just as himself. Mondo’s first coaching experience was with the Pacifica High School football team for four years where he assisted the team in winning the CIF regional championship. This is his first year teaching at VHS where he now teaches physical education.
Coach Avila is coaching cheer for the first time at VHS. She comes from Nordhoff High School where she coached for the past years since starting her high school coaching journey at the age of 18. Before this, she cheered for her own high school for the entirety of her years there. She wants to build a team that can bond well with each other. Avila said, “I first started being a cheer coach because I wanted to help the little youth cheerleaders in my community and then ever since that my passion grew stronger to help coach athletes and at first when I was switching to Ventura it was because our dance teacher Taylor Moore recommended it for me to come and now I’m here.” She is excited for CIF competition season this year which the team has not participated in for the past three years.
Coach Torres is the assistant coach of the VHS cross country team for the first time. He wants to bring the team together additionally hoping for a successful season. Torres said, “I’m hoping to achieve a team cohesiveness and bring them more together and more of a family culture and helping student athletes realize their full potential.” Torres has coaching experience with schools in California, including Chico State, Rio Mesa and Buena where he coached for 10 years. He is one of the newer teachers on campus, with two years at VHS and has now decided to take the opportunity to assist VHS’s award winning cross country team. Torres took a two year break from coaching but is now continuing once again alongside Josh Spiker and others.
