Ron Nocetti named new Executive Director of the CIF

The long and steady climb for Ron Nocetti is over.

A two-sport athlete at Sacred Heart Cathedral Preparatory (San Francisco), Nocetti was influenced mightily by high school coaches and teams, and immediately considered it his life calling.

From high school coach to dean of students to athletic director, all the way to the California Interscholastic Federation office, the state's governing body, Nocetti climbed the ladder of leadership and influence.

On Wednesday he reached the top, by being named the Executive Director of the CIF, replacing Roger Blake who announced his retirement in March after 43 years in education and seven years as head of the state. Blake will officially step down in August. Nocetti had served second in command as Associate Executive Director since 2012.

During that span, Nocetti gained the respect and trust of educators, coaches and media sorts alike, with a clear, direct and no-nonsense communication style that grew from his vast experience at lower levels. He oversaw a variety of operational areas over the last seven years at CIF.

He previously was the Director of Athletics at Jesuit (Carmichael) and sat on the board for the California State Athletic Director's Association for three years. In 2005, he was named the California Athletic Director of the Year for the Sac-Joaquin Section.

Before moving to the Sacramento area, Nocetti spent nine years teaching and coaching at Sacred Heart Cathedral, where he also served as the dean of students and assistant principal for student services.

He coached for 18 years at a variety of levels in the sports of baseball, basketball, and football (not in high school), and also presented more than 200 workshops to coaches, parents, and student-athletes across the country on behalf of the Positive Coaching Alliance based at Stanford University.

He is a graduate of the University of San Francisco where he received a master's in sport management, and a doctorate in educational leadership. Nocetti also played baseball while attending USF.

He is the ninth Executive Director of the CIF, following E.W. Barhart (1914-1915), C.L. Biedenbach (1915-1937), A.B. Ingham (1937-1955), William Russell (1955-1980), Tom Byrnes (1980-1995), Jack Hayes 1995-2001), Marie Ishida (2001-2012) and Blake (2012-2019).

In a prepared statement, Nocetti said: "It is an honor to be selected as the new executive director and I'm excited to continue serving side by side with the entire CIF family who works so relentlessly to provide opportunities for our students to participate in education-based athletics. I also join the entire organization in thanking Roger for 43 years of service to secondary education in California. He worked tirelessly on behalf of our member schools and their student-athletes and we wish him and his wife, Karen, the best in their retirement years."

Blake said Nocetti is the right man for the job.

"There is not a more qualified person for this job than Ron Nocetti. He is well prepared and will do an outstanding job. I'm retiring from the CIF knowing that his leadership will only improve the experiences for the students and schools participating in education-based activities in California."