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Coach's Playbook

Masters In Coaching Episode XXXIX: CIF Southern Section Commissioner Rob Wigod

Posted on 4/14/2022 by Tim Cates



From a teacher and coach to now commissioner of the CIF Southern Section, he is Rob Wigod.

Show Highlights

  • He worked in the Long Beach Unified School District as a teacher, coach, and athletic director for Lakewood High School for 14 years, two years as a baseball coach and athletic director at Los Alamitos High School before becoming the Assistant Commissioner, now Commissioner, of the CIF Southern Section and a professor for CUI’s Master’s in Coaching and Athletic Administration program
  • How this year, they plan to square their accounts with sports that were unable to have their championships in 2020-2021
  • What athletic directors, coaches, principles, and student-athletes did to secure a full CIF sports program for the 2021-2022 school year 
  • How keeping a “student-athletes first” mentality assisted in the successful transition from the COVID-19 Pandemic athletic schedule to today’s full schedule
  • He oversees around 400,000 student-athletes in 26 sports for boys and girls, and his team focuses on running championship playoffs, eligibility of officials, promoting good sportsmanship and character development
  • What he hopes high school student-athletes in his program will carry with them once they move on from the program
  • He played at Long Beach Wilson High School before attending California State University Long Beach and was offered a position coaching the football team at his alma mater
  • He pursued a history degree and a social studies credential while coaching and got out of college with five years of coaching experience, which equipped him to start as a full-time staff/faculty member at Lakewood High School
  • What he experienced when he applied for the Assistant Commissioner position and how far he has come now in his 11th year as the Commissioner of the Southern Section
  • How loyalty and collaboration have helped the office team improve their efficiency, social media presence and instill competitive equity playoffs
  • What factors influenced his decision to achieve a coaching Master’s Degree from Azusa Pacific University
  • What courses he has taught in the Master’s in Coaching and Athletic Administration program since the program’s founder, Tom White, asked him to join 15 years ago
  • How a program taught by Jon Hamro at San Clemente High School inspired the MCAA program’s Athletic Director Institute
  • What real usable tools students will achieve throughout the program
  • How outside forces present the most significant challenge for the CIF Southern Section and why some student-athletes are transferring from high school to high school
  • Regulations surrounding the 2% of student-athletes that transfer and why that number has been down in recent years

Tags: Masters in Coaching, Coaching, MCAA Podcast, CIF, Baseball, Football, Athletic Director, Basketball

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