I talked with Chubb this Monday afternoon trying to get a clarification of the timeline of events. Chubb, who was somewhat reluctant — and justifiably so — to talk about all aspects, was able to give us some idea of what happened.
To set the background, Amador and Foothill athletic coaches are hired on a yearly contract basis, meaning their employment expires at the end of the school year. The contracts are almost always renewed with little to no fanfare, something I have confirmed with coaches and officials at both campuses.
But this one went south shortly after the wrestling season ended.
On the Tuesday following the CIF State Wrestling Championships on Feb. 23-25, Chubb told me he got a text from Amador Valley coordinator of operations Alphonso Powell asking for a meeting. One of the several hats Powell wears is athletic director.
"I said OK, and went to the school," Chubb said. "He told me that the district had decided to go in a different direction for the wrestling coach. Alphonso couldn't give me a reason why."
Chubb left the school with a range of emotions as he had to resign himself to not leading the Amador program any longer.
Then he met with the team later in the week after taking a couple days to digest everything. "I let the kids know I wasn't being brought back and I could see the hurt in their faces," Chubb said. "At that point, I knew I had to fight this."
Parent groups mobilized at Amador — I got a bundle of emails — all supporting Chubb. They were sent to local media, as well as PUSD and Amador.
On the following Monday, Chubb was summoned to the district offices for a meeting that included Mike Williams (senior director for human resources for PUSD) and Amador principal Jonathan Fey.
"I was told by Mike Williams it was all a miscommunication," Chubb said. "I was told by the D.O. that I was eligible to be rehired in July."
Chubb said he was also told he had the greenlight to start offseason conditioning for the wrestlers, as well as permission to hold the wrestling banquet.
The final decision for 2023-24, according to Chubb, lies with Fey.
To the surprise of no one, Chubb has taken the high road.
"As far as I am concerned, it's in a good spot right now," Chubb said. "I am looking forward to the future."
I am trying to be optimistic this is the case. Chubb has done a tremendous job building a family in the Amador wrestling program. He has also put in time at Harvest Park Middle School with the wrestling program.
There are reasons to be confident, but does anyone else think something doesn't add up?
At the very least an explanation should be forthcoming as to why Powell would say what he did to Chubb. Are we to believe that the athletic director randomly told a coach that the district was moving on from him, without any conversation with the principal or district office?
This is the person who oversees athletics, as well as other operations around the school. Shouldn't that person be competent enough to know what he is supposed to be saying to coaches or other staff?
I find it unnerving and worrisome, but it appears as for now, we are stuck waiting for July to hear the final decision from Fey if Chubb will be leading the Amador program.
Let's hope for the athletes he is.
Foothill boys' volleyball
The Falcons started the East Bay Athletic League season off in fine form, winning a pair of big matches.
The week started with a win over San Ramon Valley, followed by a thriller over Dublin.
Highlights against the Wolves came from Tyler Keala (13 kills, 5 digs), Zach Seraj (9 kills, 9 digs), Landen Meonske (18 assists, 6 digs, 4 kills) and Noah Mitzenmacher (12 digs). Leading the way against the Gaels were Meonske (32 assists, 3 kills, 3 aces), Keala (14 kills, 8 service points), Kayan Vohra (6 kills, 2 blocks) and Caden Stedman (3 kills, 3 blocks).
Amador boys' volleyball
The defending EBAL champs stubbed their toes a bit right out of the gate, falling to Dublin before rebounding with a win over Livermore.
In the defeat, the Dons were led by Max Riter (12 kills, 8 digs), Luke Melvin (9 kills), Colin Bowers (16 assists), Jackson Mello (7 service points) and Stanford-bound Nate Clinton (2 blocks).
Against Livermore the leaders were Nick Nayak (8 kills), Bryce Nohava (16 assists, 5 digs), Spencer Thiel (5 blocks), Parker Brookhart (8 digs) and Melvin (10 digs, 3 aces).
Amador boys' lacrosse
The Dons split their two games last week, beating Las Lomas but falling to Bishop O'Dowd.
In a 18-7 win over Las Lomas, Sebastian Diligent (10 goals, 1 assist), Will Coultrip (5 goals, 7 assists) and Hunter Selkow (3 goals, 3 assists) led the offense. For the defense, Matteo Gervasoni, Noah Awad and Tommy Balestreri played well.
In the 6-2 loss to O'Dowd, Diligent scored both goals. Braden O'Donnell and Alec Smith played well.
Foothill boys' lacrosse
The Falcons went on the road last week and dropped a 6-5 loss to Berkeley in overtime.
Mikey Paulson turned in a strong game in the goal, making six saves to keep the game close. AJ Becker scored a pair of goals, with Graham Zander going coast-to-coast to add another. Wyatt Lam and Darrin Lam added goals, and Tyler Walsh had three assists. Jake Morgan, Zander, Josh Taylor and Jake Clevenger played well too.
Amador Valley tennis
The Dons pulled out a tough, 5-3 win over Dougherty Valley with one match suspended due to darkness.
Amador got wins in singles from Bryan Park, Minsung Kim, James Heeter and Roy Kim. In doubles play, the Dons got the win from the team of Case Bahl and Bhavik Singhal to clinch the team victory.
