After spending huge portion of life at Justin-Siena, Bettencourt ready to make his own mark on athletics and in high school sports community as Athletic Director

By Kyle Foster, photo courtesy of Eric Thompson (Shamboozled.com)

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Twitter/X: @NapaSportsNews @NapaKyle 

It helps to know a place like the back of your hand. But when you’ve spent a huge portion of your life in one place, you know it very well. 

This is what has happened to the 2002 Justin-Siena graduate who is in his first year as the athletic director after years as the assistant AD. After all, he’s spent nearly 25 years at the school in some capacity before taking over for George Nessman, who retired as AD in the summer. 

“Having spent almost a quarter of a century here as both a student, a coach, and an employee, obviously, this place means a lot to me, and to be the athletic director here is both an honor and humbling,” Bettencourt said of being named the leader of the athletic department and what it meant to him. “ I think of people like Lynn McCarroll, Mike Fisher, Mike Boles, people that have really helped not only shape me, but shaped this school, and to stand on their shoulders and to be able to take this position from someone like George as well. I feel honored and understand there’s a responsibility to keep things going in a positive manner.”

Having coached with Boles and worked alongside Nessman for years, he was able to learn a lot from those two. After all, there were some good mentors. On top of that, he created good bonds with these two. 

“First and foremost, Mike Boles is more than someone who’s been a boss; he’s a mentor, he’s a friend, and he’s family,” Bettencourt explained. “I would not be in this position without Mike. I have no doubt about that in my mind. I’ve been lucky enough to work with him in the VVAL.  Yeah, and just owe so much to all his mentorship over the years. 

“George has taught me a lot about how to take a deep breath,” Bettencourt said of Nessman’s impact. “George is really good at taking a deep breath and not freaking out, and I think I’ve learned a lot just watching how George handles things in terms of being calm, being patient, and making sure that when you speak, it means something.” 

One thing that Bettencourt already has going for him is the fact that the whole student body is behind the decision. After he was named the new AD in May, he had students congratulating him in the days after. On top of that, the group that was leading the charge was his girls’ basketball team. This is the one that meant the most to him because they took the time to congratulate him and say that he’s their coach in the post.

“It’s been unbelievably humbling to have as many students as I have had stop me and congratulate me,” Bettencourt pointed out. “It means a lot that the students would not only know that it happened, but care enough to say something. Outside of my wife posting something which was beautiful, I would say my favorite thing that something said was when my girls’ basketball team posted something on Instagram, and it said, ‘That’s our coach.’ That meant the world to me because clearly, we have a very special bond in our program with all of our coaches and our players. To see that post and to know they were excited, obviously, to even though they were excited that I got to stay as coach was really cool.” 

While taking this job means more responsibilities, he will still be the head girls’ basketball coach when winter comes around. It was a big deal for him to be able to continue coaching the program he’s built up in his time at Justin-Siena. The Braves went an astounding 30-4 last winter, making it to the CIF North Coast Section championship game and then later losing in the CIF Northern California playoffs. 

“I think the hardest part about going through this process was imagining what it would be like to have to tell the returning seniors that I wasn’t going to be coaching, and luckily enough, I still will be coaching,” Bettencourt explained. “So I don’t have to have that conversation. The school has been very gracious in allowing me to continue to coach. Obviously, there may be conflicts that come up as I go through this, but with the priority of being athletic director, I am still very much committed to and excited to be the girls’ basketball coach here.”

Another thing that Bettencourt has built up is a rapport with everyone in not only the Vine Valley Athletic League, but more specifically in Napa County. He hopes to work with other ADs in the county to continue making sports better in the community. 

“I think it’s important to keep our bonds strong and keep working together,” Bettencourt said. “I think one example is Darci (Ward)  and I are both huge advocates of 707 Premier basketball because we both see a need, especially on the female side, to build basketball back up. There was a time when all three schools were competing at a very high level, and we hope to get back to that. All the schools in this area are committed to having more students in sports because of the benefits, not only physically but mentally. And I look forward to continuing to work with all the schools on strengthening our youth programs locally and making sure that there’s plenty of kids in athletics.” 

As the new school year has gotten underway, Bettencourt has been joined by new Associate Athletic Director Erica Escalante. Also staying on to help with the athletic training side of things is trainer Willem Wilkelman.  

“We are really lucky to have someone with Erica’s background, experience, and expertise as a part of our Athletics Staff,” Bettencourt explained. “Within the first month of having her on board, we have felt the difference and feel the department moving in a strong direction. Between her and Willem as our Athletic Trainer, I feel blessed knowing that we have a great staff who not only has experience and expertise, but more importantly, cares deeply about the students and programs that we are charged to serve.” 

Another thing Bettencourt has going in his favor is the fact that he has a great relationship with all the coaches at Justin-Siena. This is something he’s going to lean on a lot because these personal relationships will make it easier. 

“I think we’re lucky to have a strong coaching staff right now, and I personally am lucky to have good relationships with our coaching staff,” Bettencourt said of his relationships with all of his other coaches. “Obviously, my goal is going to be not only to strengthen those relationships, but work to help coaches grow in any way that I can. Ultimately, my number one job is to serve the students, and when the athletic department is serving the students, part of that is providing exceptional coaching. So that’s definitely a focus. We’re really lucky to have a very strong athletic trainer, Willem Wikellman, and I have a great relationship with him, and we really look to keep him as part of the athletic team as we move forward.” 

Because he has a good coaching staff in place already, he wants to continue to make sure that the program lines up with the mission of the school while providing a consistent experience. He would also like to continue the winning ways of the last few years. 

“I think first and foremost, we always want to make sure that our athletics programs are lining up with the mission of our school,” Bettencourt said of his vision. “As a Lasallian school, we have a calling to make sure that we are living up to our core principles. So that’s first and foremost.

“Secondly, we want all of our programs to have a consistent experience,” Bettencourt continued. “We want to pursue excellence. We want to make sure that we’re putting the kids first, and we want to hold a standard of commitment and accountability and a pursuit of excellence.”