Merced Union High School District

Paul Hogue describes himself as “Bear born.” He graduated from Merced High School in 1986 and returned to campus as a teacher and coach in 1996. He’s continued wearing the orange and black ever since, spending the last 12 years as the athletic director. After 30 years, Hogue is retiring at the end of the school year.

 

Meanwhile, across town, Golden Valley High athletic director Matt Thissen is getting ready to clean out his office when he also retires at the end of the year. Thissen is one of two original staff members who came aboard when Golden Valley opened in 1994, joining business teacher Tom Hang. Thissen taught history and was the head girls volleyball and girls basketball coach for many years before spending the last 10 years as the athletic director.

 

Both Hogue and Thissen have made an incredible impact during their careers at each campus and each school will feel their absence. “Hogue and Thissen are Merced and Golden Valley athletics,” said Livingston athletic director Scott Winton. “With Hogue being a Merced High alumnus and Matt having been part of Golden Valley almost since Day 1, both have built incredible connections with generations of coaches, student-athletes, and families. Their impact goes far beyond schedules and facilities — they’ve helped shape the identity and culture of their schools.”

 

The work of athletic directors usually goes unnoticed as they work behind the scenes Athletic directors serve as the backbone of high school sports programs, balancing countless responsibilities to ensure student-athletes, coaches and teams have everything they need to succeed. From scheduling games and hiring officials to managing budgets and maintaining facilities, their role touches nearly every corner of campus life.

 

Athletic directors coordinate practice and game schedules for every sport, making sure fields, gyms, pools and courts are available and prepared. They work closely with league officials to organize competition calendars, handle transportation for road games and ensure eligibility requirements are met for student-athletes. They also serve as a support system for their coaches and athletes.

 

“Paul is one of the most passionate individuals I have worked with ever,” said Merced High football coach Rob Scheidt, who just finished his 30th season as the Bears coach. “He loves this place!  He often would do the work of three to four people to make sure we can be great on the court, field, and pool. He started our Hall of Fame and has continued the legacy of a school that prides itself as Scholars & Champions!  His servant attitude towards others has propelled others to aspire to be great in everything they do, because of this, it is easy to work hard as the head football coach knowing that our AD is doing everything with extreme enthusiasm each and every day.  He has been an inspiration to me to be my best in everything I do for this school.”

 

One of the first things Hogue did when he became the athletic director was he started the Merced High School Hall of Fame in 2015. Since its inception, the Merced High School Hall of Fame has inducted 114 athletes, 13 coaches, eight community members and 23 teams.

 

Starting the Hall of Fame was at the top of the list of things to do when Hogue took over as athletic director. “We needed it,” Hogue said. “We were established in 1895 so we’re looking at 131 years of history. I have yearbooks in my office dating all the way back to 1918. I just knew that we needed to recognize alumni and people in our community as one of the original schools here. This school means a lot to this community. The Hall of Fame has been a huge success.”

 

During Hogue’s tenure as athletic director Merced High has also seen huge facility upgrades with the new gym, football stadium and pool. “It is very rare to have an administrator or AD have his fingerprint on so many tangible projects on one location like Paul has had,” Scheidt said. “He was instrumental in opening our new gym, new football stadium and new swim complex. It has been an amazing run for him as athletic director.  He embodies what it means to be a Bear from his time as a student athlete; to teacher/coach and now one of the best runs as an athletic director.”

 

The Bears have also enjoyed tremendous success across the board in their athletic program, winning the Central California Conference Athletic Excellence award multiple times. His final year may be Merced High’s best with Sac-Joaquin Section championships won in flag football, boys water polo and girls water polo.  

 

“With all the new schools being built and added to this area, Merced has still maintained the standard of athletic and academic excellence, and I take a lot of pride in that because a lot of older schools in other districts tend to fall off when new schools open,” Hogue said. “We've found a way here, and I think a lot of it is attributed to when Tom Scheidt was here. There is a lot of tradition here and the people working here care about this place a lot. Many come and go, but there are some that have been here as long as I have, and they help make Merced High what it is.”

Thissen’s impact on Golden Valley High’s athletic program is also unmeasurable. As a coach he helped guide the Cougars to nine CCC girls volleyball championships and six girls basketball CCC titles and one Sac-Joaquin Section title in 2000. Seven of his volleyball players earned Division I scholarship and three of his girls basketball players went on to sign with D-1 programs out of high school. 

 

“Thissen is the reason I was able to leave Merced to play Division I volleyball,” said Kelly Leonardo Silva, who played volleyball and basketball at Golden Valley and is now associate principal at Merced High. “I never in a million years thought I would have played collegiate volleyball, and actually thought softball would be my sport. Thissen believed in me and encouraged my parents to send me to a Fresno State volleyball camp during the summer going into my senior year. After that camp, the Fresno State recruiters came to our home game against Turlock and offered me a full-ride scholarship. I don’t know where I would be today if I didn’t have this experience.”

 

Silva eventually returned to Golden Valley and helped Thissen coach. Thissen truly cared about his players,” Silva said. “When my father was terminally ill, I ended up moving back to Merced and assisted Thissen in coaching girls volleyball at GV. When my father passed, Thissen attended the funeral and brought the entire volleyball team to show support for my family. I will never forget he did that.”

 

Thissen says Golden Valley High School will always be special to him. “I love it here,” he said. “I've had the chance to go other places, but you know, the grass isn't always greener, and I really enjoyed the administrators I’ve had here. I enjoyed my colleagues, and I enjoyed the students. It's been everything I could ask for, which is probably why I've been here for so long.”

 

Thissen was part of a nucleus of coaches that stayed at Golden Valley for a long time. For years it was him, Keith Hunter (boys basketball), Scott Hague (baseball), Bill Hurst (track) and Chopper Mello (wrestling). There was stability for many years with that core group and the Cougars had a lot of success.

 

“Having that group together, we were a very tight knit coaching staff,” said Thissen. “We knew each other so well, we could run ideas past each other. If I was having an issue with a kid in the classroom that was from a different sport, all I had to do is take out my phone and call coach Hunter or Hague. Having that stability certainly creates an atmosphere of trust. I'm very thankful for being on this journey with those coaches.”

 

Golden Valley principal Tiffany Gossman says Thissen will be missed on campus. “Matt Thissen has made a lasting impact on our campus, not only as an athletic director, but also as a teacher, parent, coach, band videographer, mentor, and friend to so many,” Gossman said. “His presence touched countless lives, and he will be deeply missed. His deep institutional knowledge of the campus, its programs, and its growth has been truly invaluable. As principal, he makes life easier because I know that whenever I have a question, he either has the answer or can guide me to where to find the answer. He mentors coaches to strengthen our programs, collaborates with colleagues to ensure everything runs smoothly, and supports all athletic programs with a strong sense of equity.”

 

Hogue and Thissen have known each other before they ended up at Merced and Golden Valley. They were both coaching at Chowchilla High in the 1990’s. They’ve been friends and spent the past decade working together as athletic directors in the CCC. It’s a group of ADs that Hogue and Thisen say work really well together. 

 

“I would say the ADs in our league are as close as probably any league group in our section, we get along,” Thissen said. “We know if anything happens between one of our schools, we know that we can call and get ahead of it. I include Scott Winton in that group. Even though he’s at Livingston and not in our league, he’s in our school district. Scott and Paul have been great resources in my 10 years and the camaraderie between the AD's in our league is very special.”

 

The job Thissen and Hogue have done at their schools has not gone unnoticed. “Matt and Paul  love high school sports, and they love Golden Valley and Merced High,” Winton said. “The quote, “Choose a job you love, and you’ll never work a day in your life,” fits them perfectly. These guys routinely put in 60–70 hour work weeks, most of it behind the scenes, and do it with pride and a smile on their face. Their commitment has never been about recognition — it’s about doing what’s best for kids, coaches, and their schools. They wouldn’t have it any other way.”

 

Shawn Jansen is the MUHSD Program Manager Digital Media. He can be reached at Sjansen@muhsd.org.