Ukrainetz enters Hall of Champions
When high school athletic coaches are honored for lifetime achievement, those recognized are often a little long in the tooth, if not retired.
Not so in the case of Jeff Ukrainetz.
Ukrainetz, the former Mt. Carmel and Rancho Bernardo High School swim coach, is just 41. On Wednesday, the High School Coaching Legends Committee inducted Ukrainetz into the San Diego Hall of Champions.
“It adds to the honor,” said Ukrainetz, now an assistant principal at Guajome Park Academy in Vista “It means that people have appreciated what I’ve done and I did it at an early age. I was excited because I’ve gone to the event as a spectator. I was just so flattered to be a part of that group. We we’re extremely successful, but I had a tremendous amount of support and we had some great kids and some great parents. I was just honored and flattered ... to be inducted with those coaches I admire and respect so highly.”
Ukrainetz coached swimming at Mt. Carmel from 1988 to 1990, and then at Rancho Bernardo from 1990 to 1997. He guided the Broncos to CIF titles in girls swimming from 1992 to 1995 and in 1997, and led the boys to a CIF title in 1996.
“The most rewarding thing is to see a kid that does have some talent but maybe didn’t realize that they had that kind of talent,” said Ukrainetz, who lives in Escondido with his wife and five children. “To take them and get them to really believe in themselves and get them to believe that they are more than mediocre, that they are a tremendous part of a successful program and get them to excel, is awesome.”
Since graduating from San Pasqual High School in 1983, Ukrainetz has seen quite a bit of change in coaching when it comes to parents.
“Something that has really changed over the last 15 years is parent involvement,” said Ukrainetz. “We have a lot of tremendous positive parent involvement, but unfortunately we have some of those other parents which aren’t quite as supportive. We give more energy now than we used to to the parents. That’s always been the challenge.”
In the late 1990s, Ukrainetz made two big career changes. The first was joining the Guajome Park Academy, a charter school in Vista. While he enjoyed working at RB High, Ukrainetz was looking for a different challenge.
“Poway Unified always treated me fairly,” he said. “They gave me a tremendous number of growth opportunities and it was wonderful. I really appreciate everything I was able to do in Poway.”
Ukrainetz also stepped away from coaching at the high school level so he could spend more time with his family.
“There has to be priorities in life,” he said. “My priorities were starting to change a little bit. It wasn’t school and sports as much it was beginning to see more of my family. I noticed I started spending a tremendous amount of time away from the family and into my coaching. I started to realize that they were starting to grow up. “
However, Ukrainetz hasn’t stepped away from coaching all together. He is active in his children’s youth sports, attending as many games as he can while also coaching two teams.
“I wanted to make sure I was active in their stuff,” he said.
Ukrainetz also hasn’t ruled out returning to high school coaching later in life.
“It’s such a big part of me,” he said. “It’s always been in me, but for now it’s all family.”