By Reese Sieger
After 26 years at Point Loma High School and 22 years as the head football coach, Mike Hastings has decided to step down. This is a big deal because he is only the 3rd ever head coach PLHS has ever had, after he succeeding, Bennie Edens, who coached for 48 years.
“This was definitely a hard decision, but my life is coming to some changes and I had to make decisions that were best for my family and my health,” Hastings said.
Coach Hastings has gone to 4 CIF Finals and has won 6 league championships throughout his 26 years. Hastings leaves with a total record of 148 wins, 105 losses, and 4 draws.
“I am proud of what I did for our team but I couldn’t have done any of it without my coaching staff,” noted Hastings.
Coach Mike Hastings hasn’t only been a football coach though. In the late 90’s, he taught AP Government at the school while also being a PE teacher. In 2002, he became the PLHS Athletic Director and stayed in that position until 2010.
“I loved every day of what I did, it was exactly what I wanted to do, but there comes a time where you’ve completed what you wanted to do and you have to move on with your life to complete other things you want to do.”
Hastings had a huge influence over the whole school. He helped design the gym, he fought for floodlights to be installed, and, most famously, he coined the very popular used term E.M.A.P, Every Man’s A Pointer.
Fortunately for us, Coach Hastings is not fully retiring as he will continue to be a PE teacher at the school.
“I’m not going anywhere, I will still continue to be a teacher at Point Loma High, I live and breathe Point Loma,” he explained.
Overall, Coach Hasting’s retirement from his head coach position is very noteworthy and every one of the students will miss seeing him on the sidelines of the football games.
“My time as head coach was insanely special, the thing I’m most proud of is when I see my players go from young boys to successful men and really good people. I get so much more joy out of my job due to my player’s successes. I spent 22 years as head coach but it seemed to go by so fast because I loved every second of it. If my players could remember anything from me, I hope it would be to carry forth and be proud of where you came from, represent Point Loma in a great way,” concluded Hastings.
All in all, thank you Coach Hastings for always setting a good example and for pushing our football players to be the best! We wish you good luck in your future endeavors!
The PLHS athletic board seems to be changing. Earlier this summer, our Athletic Director, Alex Hannanvash, better known as Coach V, decided to step down as Coach Manuel Diaz took over the position. But who will succeed Coach Hastings? While the decision took time, the school was proud to announce that we found a new head football coach for Point Loma High School. His name is Coach Joel Allen, and fortunately, he was able to provide an interview for Pointer Press sports.
Joel Allen was born and raised in San Diego, with his alma mater being Christian High School, and his kids currently going to High Tech High School. As well as being a football enthusiast and coach, Allen is also a sales team member at Global Disposal Reduction Services, a company that his brother owns. As a coach, Allen spent 11 years as the head football coach at the Bishop’s School from 2009-2020. Here he had a record of 100 wins, 35 losses, and 1 draw. His teams went undefeated in four of those seasons and won six Coastal League titles. Six of his teams went to the CIF Finals, winning three times. In 2010, he was named Coach of the Year by MaxPreps and in 2015, he was named CIF Athletic Director of the year. All in all, he has some great experience under his belt and was excited to join the Pointer team.
“I took this job because while I really loved my job, I started there when I was young and felt like I needed a change. However, I didn’t want to go just anywhere. I was very picky about where I ended up coaching versus when I ended up coaching. I had never actually been to the Point Loma campus, but I of course knew and respected the school as it has a lot of history. Plus, I knew I wanted a new challenge and I also wanted to become a part of the amazing community,” stated Allen.
Allen accepted the head football coach job on November 7th and with his championship background, he hopes to lead the Pointers for a lengthy tenure, to follow what seems to be the trend of previous PLHS coaches.
“The consistency of the coaching staff is super cool. It clearly shows that the culture is right and that the players are good to coach. That was actually a huge draw for me. During my time as head coach is to do what anyone should do as a coach, impact kids in a positive way through a common passion.”
“I think Joel Allen will do a great job leading our team, I know he can push them to be the best they can be and if I could give him any advice it would be to take care of the players and people first, which I know he will do,” said previous head coach Mike Hastings.
Even though we have no idea if and when we will be returning to high school sports any time soon, we have a great athletic board! Although it is always sad to see beloved PLHS staff members leave, we wish them the best of luck in their future! Thank you for everything to Coach Hastings and to Coach Allen, we are excited to get to know you more and see what you can do for our amazing team!