Mahood promoted: Vice principal appointed VP of Central Coast Section (CCS)

On Wednesday, April 13, Assistant Principal Joe Mahood was appointed the Vice President of the Central Coast Section (CCS), the sports league that Aragon plays under.

San Mateo County, Santa Clara County, Santa Cruz County, San Benito County, and Monterey County all are a part of CCS. In addition, several Catholic and Christian high schools in San Francisco compete in CCS. The region spans from Daly City to King City, and comprises of over 100 schools.

“I bring both a public school vision and Aragon’s views to [CCS-related] decisions,” Mahood says. His duties will also include stepping in as the head of meetings if the President is not there and handling financial matters. The term will last for two years; however, Mahood will be able to run for another term if he wishes to.

Previously, Mahood was a member of the Board of Managers with Athletic Director Steve Sell, a position which Sell still holds. which is comprised of representatives from each school in CCS. He joined to represent the interests of Aragon High School. Mahood was also a board member for a number of years. He voted in regard to changes in policy, budget and other important details, representing what Aragon and the district wanted.

Mahood says that Diane Burbank, previous Vice President of CCS and principal of Prospect High School, suggested that he run for Vice President.

Mahood’s decision to become a board member had in part to do with his interest in sports. Mahood ran cross country and track in high school, and played rugby in college.

“This new position will not keep me from my duties as the Assistant Principal of Aragon”, says Mahood. Most of his time with CCS is spent in meetings, which occur multiple times throughout the year. He meets with the Board of Managers, the President and other administrators.

The CCS formed in the fall of 1914, with former principal of Santa Cruz High School Lee Sims as the section’s first commander. In the winter of 1965, CCS offered section-wide competition for boys’ cross country and wrestling for the first time. Boys’ swimming, tennis and track and field took part in their first CCS competition in the spring of 1966.

Baseball started in 1967, with the first baseball tournament in the spring. Beginning in 1970, male students could participate in soccer. Then, in 1972, golf and football became available.

In 1974, girls were finally allowed to participate in sports. The first girls’ track and field meet occurred that spring. That fall, girls’ swimming became a CCS Championship sport, and afterwards girls could participate in tennis, badminton, and volleyball. Girls continued to be able to take part in more and more sports, such as field hockey, gymnastics and softball in 1976. The last sports added to the girls’ sports offerings were basketball, cross country, soccer, golf and water polo in 1996.

The first new CCS sport available to boys in years was volleyball, first offered in 1997.

Originally, the schools competed against each other in section tournaments. However, in 1980, football was split into three divisions based on the strength of the leagues.

Then, in 1982, volleyball split into two divisions based on the average enrollment of schools. Now, almost all sports are split into divisions. Two years ago, for example, boys and girls basketball became one of the last sports to switch into a division setup that was based on the perceived strengths of teams; that is, the stronger teams played in a division, the weaker teams played in another division, and so on.

Higher up than CCS, the California Interscholastic Federation acts as the administrator of athletic programs in public and private schools in California. The CIF comprises of ten athletic leagues, one of which is CCS. In total, 1,400 schools take part in CIF, which offers 27 boys’ and girls’ sports.