Ygnacio Valley High School

Ygnacio Valley High School
A mural with the school mascot at the front entrance of the school "Be safe, be respectful, be responsible!"
Address
755 Oak Grove Road Concord, California Concord, California 94518
Coordinates	37°56′02″N 122°01′33″W / 37.933993°N 122.025898°W / 37.933993; -122.025898Coordinates: 37°56′02″N 122°01′33″W / 37.933993°N 122.025898°W / 37.933993; -122.025898
Information
Type	Public High school
Established	1960
School district	Mount Diablo Unified School District
Superintendent	Dr. Nelly Meyers
Principal	Efa Huckaby
Grades	9–12
Enrollment	1,223^[1] (2011-12)
Color(s)	Navy blue and gold
Athletics	DVAL is a return to previous nomenclature. YVHS won the DVAL title many times in football, for example in 1979.
Mascot	Warriors
Website	yvhs.mdusd.org

Ygnacio Valley High School (YVHS) is a public secondary school located in Concord, California. It draws students from Concord as well as from the neighboring communities of Walnut Creek and Pleasant Hill. The school opened in 1962, and its first senior class graduated in 1964. Originally conceived as a temporary facility, the school currently carries an enrollment of over 1,500 total students for grades 9 through 12. When the nearby Northgate High School opened in 1974, YVHS lost approximately half its student body at the time. The school is part of the Mount Diablo Unified School District.

YVHS Multi-Use

Athletics

Since 1964, one of the school's main athletic rival has been the Clayton Valley High School Eagles. The main athletic rival were the College Park Falcons, until the schools were redistricted to prevent on-going vengeful stunts that were hindering good sportsmanship in the early 2000s. YVHS also shares a lesser rivalry (as well as a property line) with neighboring De La Salle High School.

The first varsity YVHS Warrior football game to be played at the YVHS campus in 38 years took place on September 16, 2006. Ground was broken on a new running track and all-weather turf football and soccer field at YVHS in August 2005. Prior to the completion of the new field, most football home games were played at Mount Diablo High School or Diablo Valley College, due to poor field conditions, condemned bleachers, and a lack of lighting.

In December 2005, the YVHS football team coached by Mike Ivankovich won the NCS-2A championship against Miramonte High School for the second time since 1999.

In the 2009-10 football season, the YVHS Football team won the DVAL league championship for the first time. The league was created two years prior. The team then advanced to the NCS playoffs, losing in the second round to Eureka High School.

In 2009, head football coach Joshua Davis resigned, and Chris Turner was named the new head coach. As of 2010, Chris Turner has stepped down, and former defensive coordinator Todd Bauleke is now the head coach.

In 1992, YVHS changed its school colors to navy blue and gold. The student body felt that the previous colors of powder blue and yellow were no longer fashionable for athletic team uniforms.

On March 14, 1987, the YVHS Boys Basketball team, coached by Jim Grace, won the (Division 1) Northern California Championship at the Oakland Coliseum Arena. 56-54(2OT) over James Logan High School. It marked the first time in history that an East Bay High School (east of the Caldecott tunnel), has accomplished such a feat. The 1987 squad set and still holds the school record with 28 wins. The team was led by Eric Bamberger, Chris Roach and former NFL player for the Bufalo Bills and Minnesota Vikings Chris Walsh.

Famous visits

President Bill Clinton installing computer cables with Vice President Al Gore on NetDay at Ygnacio Valley High School in Concord, CA. March 9, 1996.

During the 1988 presidential campaign, then Vice President George Bush made an appearance at YVHS and addressed the student body. In 1996, YVHS received another presidential visit when Bill Clinton and Vice President Al Gore made a rare joint appearance. They visited the campus as part of the NetDay '96 event, which kicked off a drive to connect California public schools to the Internet.^[2]^[3]

YVHS is an ideal location for such high-security visits, due to the limited entry points into school property.^[4]

In the early 1990s, YVHS also received visits from U.S. Representatives George Miller and Bill Baker, sponsored by the school's now-defunct Public Policy Society.

Ongoing issues

The school mascot, the warrior, is represented as a Native American with a feathered headdress. Similar mascots representing Native American culture are often a point of contention throughout the state of California, where over 100 high schools have American Indian mascots.

YVHS is occasionally cited in the ongoing school prayer debate, after allowing Muslim students to use an available room for prayer during Ramadan in 2004.

Noteworthy alumni

Mike Bellotti - University of Oregon athletic director.^[5]
Lance Blankenship - Member of 1989 World Series champion Oakland Athletics.^[6]
Jonathan Dayton - Director of Little Miss Sunshine.^[7]
Kiko Garcia - Shortstop; played for Baltimore Orioles in 1979 World Series.^[8]
Kristin Heaston - Shot put athlete; in 2004 became the first female Olympic athlete ever to compete in Olympia, Greece.^[9]
Damian Jackson - Former infielder for the Washington Nationals and other teams.^[10]
Carl Ryanen-Grant - UC Berkeley University Medalist in 1997; received widespread attention for his battle with malignant melanoma.^[11]
Dave Tollefson - Defensive end; played for New York Giants in Super Bowl XLII.^[12]
Chris Walsh - Retired Minnesota Vikings wide receiver.^[13]

References

↑ California Department of Education. "School Enrollment by Grade for 2011-12". DataQuest. Retrieved 3 September 2012.
↑
↑ Gore, Al (1997). "Statement by the Vice President about Netday". Retrieved 2008-06-12.
↑ Polk, Perry. "This is Tom Killen calling from the White House..." The Databus: California Educational Data Processing Association, April 1996, pp. 5, accessed 4 Feb 2008.
↑ "Mike Bellotti," GoDucks.com press release, 4 Aug 2006.
↑ "Lance Blankenship," The Baseball Cube, accessed 4 Feb 2008.
↑ "Jonathan Dayton," allocine.co.uk, accessed 4 Feb 2008.
↑ "Kiko Garcia," The Baseball Cube, accessed 4 Feb 2008.
↑ "Kristin Heaston," www.usatf.org (USA Track & Field), 28 August 2007
↑ "Damian Jackson." The Baseball Cube, accessed 4 Feb 2008.
↑ Scalise, Kathleen. "The University Medalist", UC Berkeley Office of Public Affairs, 30 April 1997.
↑ "Dave Tollefson," Archived May 5, 2007, at the Wayback Machine. packers.com (Green Bay Packers 2006 Draft), accessed 4 Feb 2008.
↑ Pashelka, Curtis. "Cream of the Crop through the years," Contra Costa Times, 27 January 2008.

External links

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