Game Changer

Pali High Hires New Assistant Principal in Charge of Athletics

By STEVE GALLUZZO | Sports Editor

There is a new Assistant Principal in Charge of Athletics at Palisades High and his name is Josh Wilson. He takes over for Adam Licea, who accepted an administrative position in Tulsa, Oklahoma and moved there with his wife the day after Pali High’s graduation ceremony June 4 at Hollywood Bowl.

“I was born and raised in the San Fernando Valley and attended Alemany High,” Wilson told the Post. “I played water polo and swam throughout high school and at Valley College. Before coming to Pali I spent more than 20 years at Louisville, an all-girls private high school in Woodland Hills, where I worked in the athletic department and eventually in administration. For part of my time there I coached water polo and swimming as well as serving as the Assistant Athletic Director. In my last 11 years at Louisville I was the Assistant Principal for Student Life and I was responsible for all student activities, including oversight of the athletic department.”

When Wilson found out that Pali High had an opening for the same position he seized the oportunity and applied.

“I saw the job listed online and I was intrigued by the prospect of working at Palisades,” he said. “The school has an excellent reputation in both academics and extracurricular activities. Like most people in the Los Angeles area, I’ve also been incredibly impressed by the resilience of the entire Pacific Palisades community—especially the school and the students.”

Having been involved in aquatics for most of his life, Wilson is not  afraid to get his feet wet and embraces the transition from a school with  less than 300 students to one with 2,500 this semester—despite classes being held at the Sears building on 4th Street in Santa Monica.

“I’m still getting my footing at the school but my immediate goals are to ensure that we continue to offer students a safe learning environment and they have all the same extracurricular offerings they had when the main school campus was fully available.”

Finding alternate sites for practices and games for all of Palisades’ athletic programs while students attend “Pali South” is one of Wilson’s top priorities.

“I think one of the biggest challenges is related to facilities for our sports teams,” he said. “All of our teams have been displaced and facilities in the city and specifically on the Westside are limited. We’ve been appreciative of many of the schools and parks in the area that have been working with us, but this will remain a challenge until we’re able to get  back on the main school campus.”

Like the athletes themselves, Wilson looks forward to the day when  Dolphins teams can compete in their own gym and on their own field and track at Stadium by the Sea.
“Our plan is for the school to return fully to campus in January for the second semester,” he said. “We’re hoping our sports teams will be able to return to campus earlier, some time here in the fall, but we do not have a specific timeline for that yet.”