When Vista Meets Torrey Pines, It’s Haines vs. Haines

SAN DIEGO —  The night of Oct. 11 promises to be a memorable one for the Haines family.

That’s when longtime Vista High Coach Dick Haines will match wits against his 37-year-old son, Rick, who was named head football coach at Torrey Pines this week. The Panthers and Falcons will meet in a Palomar League game.

Haines succeeds Ed Burke, who led the Falcons to a 5-4-1 mark last season. In addition to coaching, Haines will teach career education and physical education courses. Burke will become the school’s athletic director.

Haines, a graduate of West Liberty State in West Virginia, was defensive coordinator at Lancaster High near Dallas last season. Before that, he was an assistant coach at Fallbrook from 1972-77, and head coach at Gardner High in Kansas (14-5 in 1977 and ‘78), Leavenworth High in Kansas (10-9 in 1979 and ‘80) and South Lake Tahoe (1981).

In 1982, Haines served as defensive coordinator under his father at Vista. He was fired at the end of the season.

“It was not because of a father-son conflict,” Rick Haines said. “It’s just that the powers that be decided that maybe it wasn’t such a good idea for me to work with my dad.”

On Oct. 11, he’ll be working on the opposite sideline from his dad for the first time.

“My dad congratulated me as soon as I took this job,” Haines said. “He respects my abilities as a person, coach and teacher, and I respect his.”