Director of Athletics Neil La Sala was recently recognized by the National Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association (NIAAA) with an official certification in athletic administration.

According to the NIAAA's Executive Director Bruce Whitehead, "To earn this Certified Master Athletic Administrator distinction, Mr. La Sala has demonstrated the highest level of knowledge and expertise in the field of interscholastic athletic administration."

The voluntary certification process included a thorough evaluation of Mr. La Sala's educational background, experience and professional contributions, as well as a rigorous, comprehensive written examination and final project.  

"Neil  is one of an elite group of interscholastic athletic administrators nationwide to attain this level of professionalism," added Whitehead.

The NIAAA is a national professional organization consisting of all 50 state athletic administrator associations and more than 7,600 individual members. It is dedicated to promoting the professional growth of high school athletic administrators and preserving the educational nature of interscholastic athletics and the place of these programs in the secondary school curriculum.

Also, on April 23, 2014, the Los Angeles Unified School District Office of Interscholastic Athletics presented Mr. La Sala with its "Level of Excellence Award"  for operational procedures relative to Belmont High School's Athletic program.  In addition to him, four other of the district's 150 athletic directors were recognized. Furthermore, on April 25, 2015, the California State Athletic Directors' Association presented him with the Norm MacKenzie Award for outstanding service during the last 4 years as Belmont High School's Director of Athletics.  His meritorious service included; co-chairing the Athletic Directors' Advisory Committee, co-chairing the CIF LACS Athletic Directors' Symposium organizing committee, hosting and organizing the 2015 CIF LACS division 4 and 5 soccer championships, and his being selected as a member of the CIF LACS Executive Committee.