Aaron Skinner will leave Bishop Diego for head coaching job in Oregon
SANTA BARBARA, Calif. - Aaron Skinner is resigning as athletic director at Bishop Diego High
School at the end of June to become the head football coach at Oregon City High School.
An alum of Bishop Diego (Class of 2008), Skinner served as the athletic director
since January 2020, just months before the COVID-19 pandemic shutdown schools and athletic programs nationwide.
"One of my greatest accomplishments during my short tenure was getting
our student-athletes back on our campus in early July 2020 for conditioning
practices,” Skinner said. “With hindsight being 20-20, we now see the
effects that the pandemic and staying home had on our youth and I am very
proud that we were able to provide that opportunity just 4 months after
everything shut down.”
During the balance of his tenure, the Cardinals athletic programs saw
success in a number of programs. The Cardinals had 3 programs win
CIF-SS Championships in the 2021-2022 school year: Girls Volleyball, Girls
Soccer, and Boys Basketball. The Girls Volleyball CIF-SS Championship
was the school’s first since 1979 in the sport and both the Girls Soccer and
Boys Basketball were the first in school history. In addition, in 2021, the
Cardinals’ Clara McDonald won the school’s first Individual Track & Field
CIF-SS Championship (Shot Put) since 1984.
The Cardinals also won 13 league championships across a number of
programs: Boys Basketball (2021 & 2022), Girls Basketball (2021, 2022,
2023), Football (Spring 2021 & Fall 2021), Boys Soccer (2022), Girls
Soccer (2022), Girls Volleyball (2021 & 2022), Girls Beach Volleyball
(2022), Boys Track & Field (2022).
In addition to his role as the Athletic Director, Skinner served as the TCAA
Vice President and CIF Representative for the Frontier League. He also
coached football, most recently as the Defensive Coordinator in the
program’s first year in the rugged Marmonte League, where the team
advanced to the Division 3 Semifinals. The defense gave up an average of
19.1 points per game this past season, ranking first in the Marmonte
League.
"I can’t even begin to express how fortunate I am to have been given the
opportunity to come back to a place that did so much for me when I was
growing up and give back to the current (and now past) students at Bishop
Diego HS. While there are so many things that I will miss about being at
Bishop, I will most greatly miss the relationships that I’ve developed with
the students, coaches and colleagues. I’ve had an opportunity to work with
some amazing people, whom I respect greatly, and can’t thank them
enough for all that I’ve learned from being in their presence. I want to
specifically thank Karen Regan for her leadership and support and Tom
Crawford for being an unbelievable mentor,” Skinner said.
"We are grateful for Aaron’s service to the Bishop Diego community. The
contributions he made to our program have been invaluable and he will be
greatly missed,” President Karen Regan remarked.
(Press release provided by Aaron Skinner).
