Hess, others leave a void in Ventura County high school landscape
Dave Hess’ affection for Ventura High and its athletic community will never diminish.
Even in retirement.
“I love the school. I still love what I do,” he says. “It’s been the time of my life. It’s just time for someone else to take over.”
That’s what four decades of putting your heart and soul into your passion will mean for you.
After nearly 40 years as a coach and administrator and close to two decades as the athletic director, Hess is stepping down after 38 years. He’s also retiring as a teacher.
He admits he felt a bit unsettled after announcing his decision.
“It feels so strange because this is what I’ve done for a long time,” Hess said. “I need to start thinking about what’s next.”
Hess will exit as one of the most respected athletic administrators in Ventura County, if not at the very top.
Ventura boasts one of the best athletic programs in the CIF-Southern Section that consistently fields league and section contenders in a wide range of sports.
He’s also been president of the Northern Area and his calm, steady leadership has guided area schools through years and years of the tricky releaguing process.
Hess is one of a number of key athletic administrators and coaches who stepped aside after the spring sports season. Ventura County schools will have some big shoes to fill when the 2023-2024 calendar year begins this fall.
Andy Andreolli of Royal High is the other top-notch and longtime athletic director in the county leaving his post. The 65-year-old Andreolli has been at Royal since 1989 and has been the Highlanders’ AD for the past 15 years.
He began as an assistant football coach under Gene Ubelhardt and had overseen the school’s acclaimed student athletic trainers’ program.
“It’s never been a job to me,” Andreolli said. “I’ve always enjoyed what I’ve done.”
He said he’ll focus on more time with his family, including wife Lynette and granddaughter Vienna.
Esteemed athletic director John Muller isn’t retiring. He’s not even changing leagues. But he will have a new work address.
After serving as St. Bonaventure High’s AD since 2009, he announced in May that he was leaving the position.
On May 27, Muller accepted the same post at Santa Barbara-Bishop Diego.
Muller coached football, baseball and golf during his tenure at St. Bonaventure. He was named Tri-Valley Golf Coach of the Year last spring.
Sept. 15 figures to be an interesting night for Muller. The Cardinals will open up Marmonte League football play vs. the Seraphs. Muller is the current president of the Tri-Valley League.
Newbury Park and Thousand Oaks are looking for new athletic leadership. Michael Godfrey, Newbury Park's Associate Principal of Athletes for the past six years, has left for an administrative position at Thousand Oaks. First-year Thousand Oaks athletic director Cody Owens has also left the school.
Scott Fullerton, Moorpark High’s accomplished baseball coach, heads the list of county coaches who will leave a sizable void.
For 29 years, Fullerton headed a program that excelled on the field and produced stars in the classroom.
Under his leadership, Moorpark posted a record of 479-313 and earned 14 consecutive CIF-SS playoff berths, including several in upper-level Division 1.
Just as remarkable, the Musketeers always ranked at the top among area sports teams with the highest GPA. His team placed No. 1 among all Southern Section baseball teams in collective GPA in 2016.
“I think we’ve been No. 1 in the county in GPA just about every year,” he said proudly. “It’s something I identified for the program when I first took over. I’ve been fortunate to have a bunch of kids willing to work as hard in the classroom as they do on the baseball field.
“I like to think ours is a program that prepares kids for the rest of their lives.”
Fullerton’s baseball teams have been meticulously prepared while sending lots of players to the next level.
John Peck, who became the starting shortstop at Pepperdine, was selected in the seventh round of the MLB draft by the Detroit Tigers.
“We’ve had so many great baseball players come through our program,” Fullerton said. “It’s been a blessing. None of them put themselves above the team. They’ve been so much fun to coach.”
Fullerton always stressed to his players that the program belonged to them. Players donate time to the community, interact with youth league players and spend long hours maintaining the baseball field.
“I always wanted them to take ownership,” Fullerton said.
Fullerton, 59, remains a teacher at the school.
Other notable coaches moving on include Camarillo High baseball coach and former major leaguer Dmitri Young, who resigned to take a job as coach of the Mahoning Valley Scrappers of the MLB Draft League.
Jared Patterson has left Buena High baseball after six seasons to become coach at Avila University.
Chris Castro has stepped down after five seasons as St. Bonaventure's baseball coach to spend more time with his family. Castro led the Seraphs to the CIF-SS playoffs four times.
Renowned Ventura track and field coach Kory Anderson resigned to become the athletic director at Clovis-Buchanan High.
Nordhoff boys volleyball coach Robert Stratton is stepping down after a sterling run with the Rangers.
All the administrators and coaches share a common trait that leads to success. They know how to communicate.
“Being able to work well with others and communicate successfully is such an important asset,” said Hess. “It’s such an important quality and one I always stressed in hiring coaches.”
This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: Hess, others leave a void in Ventura County sports landscape
