When Stan Ford, Athletic Director at Temecula Valley (Calif.) High School, talks to his student-athletes about striving to be the best, he speaks from experience. In 1993, he took up competitive mountain biking and is now the third-ranked rider in the world for his age group.

He also speaks from the experience of guiding Temecula Valley to a long list of championships over the past two decades. The school has captured 17 California Interscholastic Federation championships, nine team academic championships (for highest GPA), two league sportsmanship honors, and a string of 19 consecutive league wrestling titles.

Ford has been athletic director at Temecula Valley, located between San Diego and Orange County, since the school opened in 1985 and also serves as assistant football coach. Before starting Temecula Valley's athletic program, he was Athletic Director at Elsinore High School in nearby Wildomar, Calif.

In this interview, Ford talks about heading up a successful program, staying connected with his student-athletes, and finding time for biking and his family.

AM: What was it like to start an athletic program from scratch?

Ford: I had been athletic director at two established schools, but building a program from the ground up was a different challenge. At first we had only 450 kids, so there was a lot of growing to do. In addition, it was three years before the school constructed a gym, and we didn't even have grass fields that first year. It was a tough row to hoe, but it established a can-do attitude and great spirit. When something doesn't go our way, we don't say, "We can't be successful because we're missing this." Instead, it's, "How do we get around the problem? How do we succeed anyway?"

What is the secret to having so many successful teams?

Well, we have a number of things going for us. At the beginning, we were the only school in the community, so there is a lot of pride in being first. Now we have eight high schools, all of which are large--between 2,500 to 4,000 each--and more are being built. But we are the school with the most history and tradition.

We also have great coaches. Our administration encourages on-campus teacher-coaches, and although we have some great non-faculty coaches, the core are on-campus teachers who are committed to the entire school. And we've been able to keep some consistency in our coaching staff. At this point, we have 10 Temecula Valley graduates coaching for us. When people go through the school, have a positive experience, and come back seeking employment, it adds to your attitude and tradition.

Why did you implement the Victory with Honor sportsmanship program?

The program is founded on terms like trustworthiness, fair play, caring, respect. Those are qualities that parents want their kids to learn, so it's a program everyone can buy into.

We work with students to promote those core values, and our coaches also attend sportsmanship training seminars. This year, we sent a letter to all the parents of our winter sport athletes explaining the Victory with Honor program and asking for their support. At our first basketball game we passed out cards that spectators could redeem for a free Coke for supporting Victory with Honor. Before each game we take two athletes from each team and they read a short statement about sportsmanship. The statement says that players play, coaches coach, officials officiate, and fans cheer for their team.

Around here, when kids ask what they can or can't do in the stands, we always ask them, "Is it for the Bears?" If you're cheering for us, you can do it, but if it's about the other team, probably not. I tell them I can think of a million things you can do to support us and about five or six things you shouldn't do.

What effect has the program had so far?

We've moved away from the negative cheering that kids see on television at the college and professional levels. To do that, we teach our students to play the role of host. We ask them, "If you invited someone to come to your house, would you start yelling at them as soon as they got in the door?" Even if people are competing against each other, they still need to respect each other.

We're also trying to teach them that the culture in professional and collegiate athletics is not what we're about. But it's hard because when our students watch a college basketball game on TV that's what they want to imitate.

Do you have to deal with a lot of parent problems?

We are an upper socio-economic community, which is a double-edged sword. Whenever we need money, the parents do anything and everything to support us and we appreciate that. But they also are used to having a lot of say in athletics and that can be a problem. A lot of our parents have been heavily involved in club and travel programs where they essentially run the teams. Maybe on a club team if there was an issue about playing time, they might talk to the coach and see their child moved to first string. At our level, that's not the way it works. So we have to sit down and explain our philosophy and how it fits into the student-athlete experience.

We tell them you can't be prepared for life if everything is perfect. One of the aims of our athletic program is to provide real life challenges where our student-athletes have to get along with teammates and coaches, deal with losses, and accept not being first string all the time. We think this is a great proving ground for young adults who can learn a lot of things they could never get from books. We get some frustrated parents, but once we talk about our philosophy with them they usually understand.

When did you start mountain biking?

When mountain bikes came out my wife wanted one. She didn't end up enjoying it, but I did. I started hanging out with people who ride and I was intrigued by the mechanics of it and learning the skills. Then when some of the people I was riding with signed up for a race, I entered too and did pretty well. I raced more and more, and eventually moved up to more competitive skill classes.

Do you use your current competitive experiences to better bond with your students?

The kids are aware that I compete and that I'm relatively fit for a 60-year-old guy. When I talk to them about competition and working hard in the weightroom it gives me a little more credibility. Any time that we as teachers and adults can model the behavior we want from our kids, it's easier for them to buy in. It's like when an English teacher has an article published in a magazine or writes a book--that's real for the students.

How do you find time to train?

It's all about organization. I teach a class that ends at 2:30 and when it's over I run to my office and finish up any remaining paperwork. Then I head out and get in an hour and a half ride--I always have my bike on my car--and come back for any night games. During the fall, if there's some time between the end of football practice and a booster club meeting, for example, I'll ride then.

How do you balance your coaching and administrative duties?

Honestly, I'm a dinosaur and I don't think it can be done in today's age. There are so many legal issues, sportsmanship issues, crowd control issues, and liability issues that didn't exist 20 or 30 years ago. When I started, an athletic director was basically a glorified secretary who did the schedules and made sure basketball and wrestling weren't at the same time in the same gym. Today's model is now a full-time administrator. I'm lucky to have a great secretary who's very knowledgeable and gives full-time support, which allows me to teach and coach.

I also try to compartmentalize. When it's football practice, that's the priority. When it's athletic director time, that's the priority. When I've scheduled a bike ride, that becomes my top priority. You have to learn to say no. I'll say, "I can't be there because I have football practice," or "I can't make that meeting because I have training time scheduled on my bike. I can do it at another time but just not at this time." I take pride in the fact that I'm pretty organized. And I try to avoid situations where something comes up that I'm not aware of.

What do you tell your coaches about work-life balance?

It's important for coaches to pace themselves--to work smart, not to just work hard for the sake of it. A meeting that might take a coaching staff four hours can get done in two if you're really on task. Rather than putting in 14 hours every day and then burning out, you should put in eight, nine, or 10 hours a day and use that experience to get really good at what you're doing.

When I get young coaches who are too gung ho, I tell them, "Take a deep breath. I know you want to coach every day this summer but maybe you should take a family vacation. I want to see you still doing this 10 years from now."

What is the key to being a good athletic director today?

I think it's having interpersonal skills and keeping everyone motivated and moving in the same direction. We need to be experts at hiring coaches, supervising coaches, dealing with parents and faculty members, and building interpersonal relationships. We also need to teach our coaches to be the best they can be.