Lorigo: A star for 34 years

JOHNNY LORIGO has worn many hats and broken many barriers during his 34 years with the Oakland Unified School District.

Teacher. Counselor. Coach. Athletic director. Mentor. Father. Friend.

Those titles probably don't do him enough justice.

But come the end of this school year, Lorigo will be hanging up his hat and retiring from the district. He'll be leaving Castlemont High, where he is the head counselor and has spent his past 16 years, including the last 14 as the school's athletic director.

A product of Oakland, Lorigo is a McClymonds alum, spent time at Laney College and graduated from San Jose State. He said he always felt the need to give back to his community.

"I was raised right across the street from the Oakland Boys Club (now the Boys and Girls club)," Lorigo, 61, said. "We had so many people that did so much for us being raised in West Oakland that you had to give back."

Lorigo's tenure in the district began as a teacher and student activities director at Fremont in 1974, at which time he also began a seven-year stint as assistant men's basketball coach at Laney.

He began counseling a year later when he spent a semester at Hawthorne Elementary School. Midyear, he was sent by former Oakland Athletic League commissioner Lou Jones, then the assistant superintendent for the district's Area 3, to Hamilton Junior High (now Calvin Simmons Middle School) to help solve major on-campus problems, which included rioting.

"That was really kind of a tough time," Lorigo said. "But not tough for me and Lou. We handled it."

The next year he settled in at Oakland Tech to become a counselor, the girls varsity basketball coach and the athletic director. At the time, Lorigo said. he was only the second man in California and the first in Oakland to coach a girls varsity team.

"What was tough was maneuvering my way through the resistance of (women) not wanting a man to coach in their league," said Lorigo, who mentioned he also became the first non-physical education teacher in the state to serve as an AD.

Lorigo stayed at Tech until 1980 when his life came full circle, and he took a counseling job at his alma mater, McClymonds. During that time he continued coaching at the CYO level, including two years at Oakland's St. Paschal's with current NBA star and former St. Joseph Notre Dame great Jason Kidd.

In 1977, consolidation at McClymonds (which is also what caused him to leave Tech) moved him to the district offices for a five- year stint in the office of student services. That, he said, was some of his most rewarding work as he served as a liaison to the city's homeless students.

"I was in and out of homeless shelters every day," Lorigo said. "That was a great experience working with those kids."

Lorigo finally settled in at Castlemont in 1992, where four of his years were spent as the boys basketball coach. But his day-to- day work as a counselor is why he'll be remembered.

"I've left coaching at times, but I've never left counseling," Lorigo said. "That's my love."

He's most proud of helping push to get the school an Olympic- size swimming pool and its all-weather football field and track, as well as the re-naming of the basketball court to David T. Shigematsu Court in honor of the Knights former legendary coach. Helping with the school's transition from a comprehensive high school to the current small schools format is another highlight.

With the way the family structure has changed in today's society, Lorigo says, and less children having a traditional two-parent home, it's more crucial than ever to create a warm school environment.

It's possible Lorigo's retirement won't last long. He's been contacted by Laney and has applied for a job where he would reach out to dropouts aged 16-20. Even in retirement though, Lorigo says he won't be far away.

A retirement party has been scheduled for June 20 at 7 p.m. at Hs Lordships Restaurant.

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