High school sports: Stephen Budnick retiring after 12 years as Vanguard athletic director
A high school athletic directors wear many hats over the course of a school year. From communicating with coaches of more than 20 sports, to keeping up with the numerous schedules, to being one of the last people to leave a venue late at night is just a few of their important duties.
Stephen Budnick, who has been the Vanguard High School athletic director for the past 12 years, has been doing those things and more for the Knights' athletic programs. Now, Budnick, 62, who has been at Vanguard for a total of 19 years, has decided to retire after many rewarding years in education.
"I'm going to miss interacting with the kids," he said. "I believe the mission of high school athletics is to broaden the experiences for the kids. I encourage them to try different sports because this may be the only time they get the opportunity. It's about safety and making it a worthwhile and positive experience for them. This is what I've done my whole life. I've been a teacher and coach and there's no time clock. You work until the job is done, than you go home and start all over again.
“Now it's time to focus on me and my wife."
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Budnick began working at Vanguard in 2003, and his dedication, experience and knowledge of what it takes to be a successful athletic director was greatly appreciated by the VHS administration and coaches.
"Stephen is incredibly dedicated to Vanguard, to our students and our coaches" fourth-year Vanguard High Principal Chris Carlisle said. "He's a staple at our athletic events, is all over the campus during the school day and is willing to fill in wherever we need him. Being an athletic director is a thankless position, but he came every day and was committed to his job."
Coaches appreciate him
"Stephen is a hard worker and is dedicated," VHS boys basketball coach Todd Davis said. “He did a lot of things behind the scenes that you couldn't see. He wanted Vanguard to be successful and was always on the job. He's a good person and a good athletic director."
"Stephen supported all of the sports programs at the school," Knights cross-country coach James Travieso said. "Beyond the time commitment, maintaining an athletic program with limited funds is probably the hardest part of the job. Whether it was a big revenue program or a small one, he made us all feel important."
Panhandle roots
Budnick, a 1985 graduate of Florida State University, taught and coached in Tallahassee for several years before spending five years in Taylor County. He spent 10 years at Rutherford High in Panama City before coming to Vanguard in 2003. He taught and was an assistant football and baseball coach for the Knights before becoming the athletic director.
"The football coach at Rutherford High was a good friend of Vanguard football coach Phil Yancey and I was looking for a change of scenery," Budnick said. "I moved down here and it worked out pretty well because through academics and athletics, we've been able to get a lot of kids to the next level."
As for the future, Budnick, who has two grown daughters, is going to give himself some time to figure out what's next.
"I'm going to give myself until August to really settle in before I make any decisions," Budnick said. "I know I'm going to play a lot of golf. My wife and I are going to do some weekend trips and we'll see where it takes us."
This article originally appeared on Ocala Star-Banner: High school sports: Ocala Vanguard athletic director retires
