Corona del Mar High hires Dennis Wilbanks as new athletic director

The Corona del Mar High School athletic department has new leadership for the 2020-21 school year, but he is a familiar face.

The school has hired Dennis Wilbanks as its new athletic director, he said Friday. Wilbanks takes over for Don Grable, who said he retired after 32 years in education, including the past 11 as CdM’s athletic director, so he could spend more time with friends and family.

Wilbanks, who has been a special education teacher at the school since 2014, is no stranger to the athletic program. He was the offensive line coach for the CdM football team for 10 years, before taking the same role the last two years at Mater Dei.

“I was turning 50 this year,” Wilbanks said. “I was like, ‘What do I want to do? What’s my end game?’ All the while, probably for about five years, I would assist Don in supervising sports events. We had always talked about being an assistant AD and working my way [up].”

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Wilbanks said he planned to be an assistant athletic director this school year, but he stepped up to the plate when Grable stepped down. He said he was hired in August, and that he needs to get his P.E. credential to keep the job.

Wilbanks is part of a new leadership group at the school. Josh Hill is the school’s first-year principal, replacing Kathy Scott, who retired in June after seven years in charge. The Newport-Mesa Unified School District also has a new superintendent, Russell Lee-Sung.

Grable said he’s sure that Wilbanks, who lives in Irvine with his wife, Stephanie, and their son, Tucker, will do a good job.

“He’s just a very passionate, fun, dedicated person,” Grable said. “He loves the students, and he knows it’s about the students. That’s what’s cool about Dennis.”

CdM football head coach Dan O’Shea said that Wilbanks has been an integral part of the program. In 2011, O’Shea’s first year with the program as a defensive coordinator under Scott Meyer, Wilbanks served as O’Shea’s defensive line coach. O’Shea said that Wilbanks was the most important individual in the successful transition from former coach Jason Hitchens to the new staff.

The 2011 CdM football team went 12-2 and won the first of three straight CIF Southern Section Southern Division titles.

“He’s done a phenomenal job developing as a coach, as a leader, as a mentor,” O’Shea said. “When you talk about work ethic, as a coach, you hope your assistant coaches bring that work ethic to the table. Dennis Wilbanks does not have a peer in terms of work ethic … I know nobody will outwork him and we really look forward to having him on board in that new role.”

Wilbanks now is involved with every CdM sport, not just football, though becoming an athletic director is particularly challenging this school year with a modified athletic calendar. He said he will be doing some learning on the job, but he has a solid support system in place including Grable, district administration and athletic directors at other schools.

“We have great coaches and a great whole athletic department, and they know how to communicate and work well with each other,” he said. “I want to continue that, and figure out how I can best serve my coaches to serve our students. That’s kind of my philosophy, because the bottom line is that if we didn’t have the kids, we wouldn’t be here.”

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