DEL MAR — Current and former members of the Torrey Pines High School boys lacrosse team and their families are asking school district officials to reconsider the decision not to renew the contract of longtime varsity coach Jono Zissi for the upcoming season.
Zissi has led the Falcons to seven consecutive CIF titles and 12 in total over his 15 years, with the most recent being in May following their championship win over La Costa Canyon High School. He is also the director of the club team Adrenaline Lacrosse, also known as West Coast Starz.
District officials told Zissi in September that he would not be returning for the 2026 season after allegedly violating CIF recruiting regulations. Zissi claims this decision was based upon snippets of text conversations that had nothing to do with recruiting, and that he was never given a chance to respond to the allegations before he was let go.
A crowd of players and parents packed the San Dieguito Union High School District office during an Oct. 16 board meeting, rallying in support of Zissi and calling for his reinstatement as coach.
“I was in complete shock and initially I didn’t believe the news that I was hearing was true,” said Torrey Pines senior lacrosse player Ross Jacobsen. “Coach Zissi inspires me to work hard to become the best leader, student, brother, son, and volunteer I can be. He always leads by example and with empathy.”
Several players spoke about Zissi’s positive impact and said that they could not imagine the program without him. The young men said Zissi taught them to be leaders on and off the field and emphasized the importance of giving back, requiring the team to complete 80 hours of community service each year.
“Look at all the people who came here in support of Coach Zissi,” said Torrey Pines senior and lacrosse player Foster Huang. “You would think a decision of this magnitude would be complex, but it’s actually quite simple. It is a matter of right and wrong, and our coach and program have been wronged. And as a program and a community, we rely on you to make it right.”
Torrey Pines Principal Robert Coppo told Zissi in September that his contract would not be renewed, stating that the CIF had determined that Zissi had violated a recruiting bylaw.
This bylaw, specific to the San Diego region, states that student-athletes cannot transfer directly onto the varsity team at a new school if the coach at that school has also been a coach or director on a club team where the student has played.
The district has cited two text exchanges that they say show Zissi and other coaches recruiting players in violation of CIF bylaws. However, Zissi’s attorney, Stephen Grebing of Wingert Grebing Brubaker & Walshok, said these texts do not constitute violations in any way.
In addition, Grebing said the district never spoke with Zissi or any of the other individuals involved in the situation before deciding not to renew his contract.
“Coach Zissi was not given the opportunity to respond. He was denied due process, and if he had been given the opportunity to present his side of the communications, it would have been clear there would have been nothing there,” Grebing said.
Alleged CIF violations
According to Grebing, Coppo, and district officials, Zissi was told that CIF had investigated the situation and determined that he had violated regulations. They also told Zissi that the CIF had implemented sanctions against the Torrey Pines lacrosse program.
However, when Zissi’s representatives reached out to the CIF, the CIF denied ever investigating the matter.
A letter from a CIF attorney to Grebing said the CIF’s San Diego Section completed a “preliminary review” after being informed of potential bylaw violations within the Torrey Pines lacrosse program. After that, the CIF turned the matter over to the school for an investigation.
“To the extent that [San Diego Section] made any determinations related to the lacrosse program at Torrey Pines High School, these determinations were made based upon the investigation and findings by the school,” the CIF letter said.
The alleged communications included texts from Torrey Pines lacrosse coaches, including Zissi and former assistant coach Dan O’Neil, to a player from Los Angeles.
In May, O’Neil messaged the student, who had previously been part of the Nike National All-Star Team that O’Neil coached, to ask if he would be interested in playing in a Nike tournament during the summer, which the student declined.
Zissi also sent a communication to the player’s father regarding his availability to play in the tournament, which he claims was strictly in his capacity as Director of the West Coast Starz club program.
O’Neil — who has since left the Torrey Pines program and now coaches at Arizona State University — also sent a message to the student asking if he was planning to transfer to either Torrey Pines or La Costa Canyon High School.
O’Neil said in a declaration provided to the district that this was not an attempt to recruit the student, as he knew CIF bylaws prohibited the student from playing varsity lacrosse at Torrey Pines for a year since he had previously played for the all-star team coached by O’Neill.
The player would also be ineligible to play for LCC, since he had played for the Mad Dog lacrosse club, coached by Mavericks lacrosse coach Dallas Hartley.
O’Neil said he reached out to the student to advise him that he would be ineligible to play for either team, but that the entirety of this communication was not provided to Torrey Pines administrators.
“Neither Mr. Coppo (whom I have known for nine years) nor the school district ever contacted me regarding these matters and attempted to verify the meaning of the text exchange,” O’Neil said in his declaration.
Another situation reported to the district involved a student who transferred from Canyon Crest Academy to Torrey Pines. According to Grebing, Zissi had been in contact with the family, but the student transferred to Torrey Pines for reasons unrelated to lacrosse.
Attorneys for the student’s family have also reached out to the district, saying that the situation was mischaracterized and that Zissi was not attempting to recruit the student, Grebing said.
The CIF did not respond to requests for comment or copies of the original complaint against Zissi.
San Dieguito Union spokesperson Edwin Mendoza said athletic coaches are hired seasonally and serve at the pleasure of the district. He declined to provide further information, noting that personnel matters are confidential.
Those supportive of Zissi are eager to see the district bring him back. Torrey Pines alumnus Tyler Blackburn, who played under Zissi in the lacrosse program before going on to play Division 1 at Brown University, said the coach helped shape the man he is today.
“With hundreds both before and after me, I urge you to invest in the young boys of this community by allowing Coach Zissi to continue to lead the lacrosse program and to grow more boys into the incredible men that this community wants,” Blackburn said.
