Kat Piantka | Editor-in-Chief & Mei Pearl Holmes-Selby | Sports Editor
September 14, 2025
After the recent retirement of Jon Hamro and Vice Principal Bailey, the student body began to wonder who would be able to fill such big shoes. Luckily, two qualified candidates, Coach Matt Posten and Mr. Jueng, will continue to shape the academic and athletic culture of SCHS.
After thirty years of serving as the Athletic Director at SCHS, Jon Hamro leaves behind a legacy of athletic success and an uplifting student athlete culture, as he now embarks upon a new era: retirement. A 1981 graduate from San Clemente High and a notable Tri-Varsity athlete, Hamro has dedicated his life to the Triton community and transformed SCHS into one of the most dominant athletic and academic powerhouses in the state. SCHS Principal, Dr. Brad Baker, remarked, “We are grateful for his years of service and excited to welcome Matt Poston, who brings vision and proven leadership to the role.”
With more than two decades of experience in athletics, Coach Matt Posten brings an experienced and well-versed perspective, as he served as the Head Football Coach at Tesoro for a decade and recently as an assistant varsity coach for the SCHS Varsity Football team. We are thrilled to witness his role transition from coach to Athletic Director as he carries on the legacy of Jon Hamro in a new and nuanced way.
Coach Matt Posten, has been surrounded by sports his whole life and has “played just about everything at one point or another.” However, his main passion is football, as he went on to play at the University of Redlands, yet his athletic career ended freshman year with an injury. Sidelined, a lifelong career emerged as football coach. Posten has coached Varsity football for numerous schools in the district from Varsity Defensive Coordinator at Capo Valley High School and Tesoro, to now the Linebacker Coach at San Clemente High. After knowing Hamro for over twenty years because he taught Posten at “Concordia University for [his] masters in coaching athletic administration,” they developed a dynamic coaching relationship. Once Posten heard of the news of Jon Hamro’s retirement, his attention shifted towards the recently unoccupied role of Athletic Director. Posten has always admired the small beach town and “strong community” that San Clemente is famous for, and is excited to actively take part in it.
Posten aims to continue to cultivate San Clemente’s athletic legacy. Currently, SCHS is ranked “in the top 25 programs in the state of California” by Max Preps. Which is a high standard that Posten hopes to exceed as he aspires for “this very good athletic program [to become] great.” SCHS is eager to see how Coach Matt Posten will shape and improve the experience of student-athletes in competition and on campus.
With the retirement of Mr. Bailey, Albert Jeung, excitingly takes his place as San Clemente High School’s new Assistant Principal. He has worked in the district for over thirty six years; his extensive experience of working with students, staff, and parents, as a high school teacher and a district administrator make him the perfect candidate for continuing the work of Mr. Bailey. His most previous roles include working with Capistrano Valley High School, San Juan Hills High School, and Aliso Niguel High School. In his thirty three years of teaching high school students, he has taught music and physical education. Not only has he gained experience in the classroom, but also in numerous leadership positions, from school site manager, to department chair, and serving as a Secondary Teaching Assistant Principal. Additionally, his most recent position includes overseeing Visual and Performing Arts Programs, from preschool to high school students, in all schools within the district.
Shortly following his years in the district, Mr. Jeung decided it was time to come back to campus as he missed the environment of student and staff life. SCHS stood out to him as he noticed it embodies a tight knit community and a “hometown feeling.” He loves SCHS’s “great parents, great students, [and] great staff.” He expressed that the motto, “One Town, One Team,” truly represents San Clemente High’s culture. Lastly, Mr. Jeung can only hope that “people will say things got a little better, and not a little worse with [him] being here.”
These two new faces on campus will carry on Jon Hamro’s and Vice Principal Bailey’s legacies. Both Mr. Jeung and Mr. Posten strives to maintain the “One Town, One Team” culture, improve the experience of the student body, and make a difference at SCHS.
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