On the "Other Duties As Assigned" part of the job that every high school football coaches takes on when he signs the dotted line, unofficial recruiting hype man is among the most important and most time-consuming. You're compiling and sending out highlight tapes. Recruiting coaches to come check out your guys on campus. Pitching them on why they should spend a precious scholarship on your guy and not the kid from the next town over. Often times, you're driving kids to campus yourself, a trip you may or may not be reimbursed for, but you do it anyway.
This has become all the more important nowadays, too. Sure, the elite kids have their own agents to do it for them, but the vast majority aren't elite, and they need more help than ever now that 17- and 18-year-olds have to compete with 21- and 22-year-olds for precious roster spots, especially at the FBS level.
Implicit within the "Other Duties As Assigned" is that you're not paid extra for this task, but apparently Santaluces (FL) High School head coach Hector Clavijo III apparently missed that memo.
According to the Palm Beach Post, the Palm Beach County School District investigated Clavijo for "exploit(ing) his relationship with a student-athlete", uncovering a total of $7,000 in bank transfers from an unnamed athlete to the coach.
On various social media profiles, Clavijo lists himself as an "NCAA and NFL coaches NIL rep" and as the "Director of NIL" for the firm Agency 1 Sports. The firm itself lists Clavijo as its "Director of Coaches Division." Confronted by the Santaluces High School principal, Clavijo said being an agent is "something I do outside of school," according to investigation documents uncovered by the Post. Clavijo stated in his interview that he "messed up by, I don't know, being too nice."
According to the Palm Beach County School District Office of Inspector General, Clavijo messed up by working as an unlicensed agent and entering into a client relationship with his own student-athlete, which not only violates school district policies and Florida High School Athletic Association bylaws, could be a violation of Florida state law as well. Per the Palm Beach Post:
According to the 2025 Florida Statutes: "For a first offense (of a district employee in violation of FHSAA bylaws), there is a $5,000 forfeiture of pay for the school district employee or contractor who committed the violation."
While Florida high school coaches have been in a years-long struggle for equitable compensation, Clavijo also works as a teacher at Santaluces High School. His hiring was viewed as a major win for the school after he led (now-closed) Champagnat Catholic to four straight state championship appearances from 2018-21. He has compiled a 30-14 record with three district titles in his four seasons at the school; the Chiefs won just one game in the year prior to his arrival.
The FHSAA is now conducting its own investigation into Clavijo and Santaluces after the Palm Beach County School District released its own findings.