How this Juan Diego student-athlete became the face of UHSAA lawsuit

Zach Szymakowski could’ve easily just thrown up his hands and said, “I’m done with Utah.”

Just a few weeks before the Juan Diego High foreign student returned to Melbourne, Australia, for the summer, the Utah High School Activities Association passed a new rule that prohibited F1 visa students from competing in varsity sports, unless a school chose to forfeit participating in the postseason.

For a student-athlete who was very much looking forward to being part of Juan Diego’s football team his senior season as the starting punter/kicker, it was devastating news.

Quitting Juan Diego wasn’t an option, though.

In just one year at the Catholic school in Draper, the community he’d immersed himself into had started to feel like family. In addition to being part of the football team, he was taking rigorous courses to prepare for college, he was team manager on the lacrosse team, and had been voted a student body officer as well.

Everything about his senior season was going to be perfect — except the UHSAA wasn’t going to allow him to play varsity football. The consolation outlet of playing JV football has been minimal at best, as Juan Diego has played just three games. Many of its 3A opponents only have enough players for freshman/sophomore games.

Despite a seemingly hopeless situation from the start, Szymakowski never gave up hope of playing football. When he returned from Australia for the start of school, he knew Juan Diego was pursuing legal options to challenge the UHSAA rule.

“Zach’s hopes have been lifted nearly every week, just because of the wish and the want to play,” said a tearful Katie Tuckerman, Zach’s mom. “He hasn’t given up hope, and that’s to his credit, and he’s gone to every single training every week, and he’s coached those kids that have taken his position, and he’s really contributed, and the coach says he’s so proud of him that he hasn’t given up, and he can’t believe how well he’s kept his composure.”

Szymakowski, 18, became the face of a legal battle against the UHSAA as David Jordan filed a lawsuit on behalf of the Juan Diego senior in a federal court on Monday citing discrimination toward F1 visa students. It’s given him a bit more hope that maybe he can strap on the Juan Diego helmet again.

Juan Diego has two regular-season games remaining — this Friday against Ben Lomond and then next Friday at home against Ogden.

His parents, Jerry Szymakowski and Tuckerman, flew into town from Australia last week for a three-week visit in hopes of seeing their son play, whether it was sub-varsity or junior varsity. They are 0 for 1 in that quest, as Ogden elected to just play a freshman/sophomore game against Juan Diego instead of a JV game.

Along with Monday’s legal filing, a motion was also filed for an emergency injunction that could temporarily lift the restriction on F1 students. If granted, he and any other F1 students in Utah would be allowed to play varsity sports and in the postseason as the legal proceedings play out.

UHSAA attorney Mark Van Wagoner said in a statement to the Deseret News that the short time is very problematic.

Szymakowski is the first Australian student on an F1 visa to attend Juan Diego High. Google was pretty much his introduction to Utah.

When he decided he wanted to study in the United States, he searched for small Catholic schools in the West with strong academics and a football team. When Juan Diego popped up in the searches, it immediately piqued his father’s interest.

Jerry Szymakowski is an engineer who’s worked for Rio Tinto in Australia. The Kennecott Copper Mine is owned by Rio Tinto, and Szymakowski had previously visited Utah and really enjoyed it. Upon further research, the parents loved everything about what Juan Diego could offer their son.

“This was just very personable and welcoming. And you want to feel that when you’re sending your child to the other side of the world, and you also, as a parent, want someone who you can communicate with if there is an issue, I can pick up the phone to Mr. Hoshino any time of the day or night, and he’ll be there,” said Tuckerman.

Zac Szymakowski grew up playing Australian Rules Football, but he loved watching the Chicago Bears on TV with his dad. So once he got to the United States prior to his junior year, he of course wanted to try American football.

It became an immediate foot in the door with his peers at Juan Diego.

He excelled his junior year, and believed with a great senior year he might even earn a scholarship to kick in college. Utahns are no stranger to the success of Australian kickers on the University of Utah football team, with standouts Mitch Wishnowsky and Tom Hackett. College coaches aren’t really interested in him, though, without game film.

Prior to the UHSAA rule change, student-athletes in Utah, whether they were on a F1 or J1 visas, were allowed to compete in sports. Those on a J1 visa are only allowed to attend high school in Utah for one season, and they must enter the United States through a “cultural exchange” program, pay money to that program and usually don’t get to pick which school or state they attend.

Those on an F1 visa like Szymakowski can pick which school they want to attend, can choose their host family and pay tuition directly to the school. They can attend the school all four years if they’d like.

For Szymakowski, despite not being allowed to participate in varsity games this school year, he’s still at every practice, and not just training himself. He’s helping coach the other kickers. He’s also kind of become the social media manager for his teammates, posting highlights of their great accomplishments.

In two weeks on Senior Night, whether he’s miraculously in uniform or just in street clothes, he’ll be recognized as a member of Juan Diego’s team for his accomplishments.

Szymakowski’s character has shined brightly despite the difficult situation, a character trait his mom is extremely proud of. She said it’s still been heartbreaking watching from the other side of the world as her son’s been denied the same opportunities as his peers.

That heartache is why Szymakowski put his name on a lawsuit when no one else did. If nothing comes of it with the emergency lifting of the rule, or nothing changes this school year, he’s hopeful future F1 students don’t have to endure the same restrictions he has.

“So one of the things that I took into consideration is the people after me. I don’t want the people after me to be put in a situation like this, like I had a good thing going, like I was part of the football team. I was playing varsity last year,” he said.

In one of the motions filed Monday, Szymakowski’s lawyers cited a potential legal precedent in South Dakota that overturned a ban on F1 students competing at the varsity level in Entwistle vs. South Dakota High School Activities Association.

Szymakowski’s lawsuit states that the UHSAA rule that prevents F1 visa students from playing in the postseason violates their Equal Protection Clause of the U.S. Constitution.

The lawsuit reads, “The UHSAA’s Rule is discriminatory on its face and should be struck down. Under the Rule, Utah high schools face a choice — they must either discriminate against students with F-1 visas by prohibiting them from playing any varsity sport or forfeit the opportunity for the school’s team to have any postseason (playoff) play and the opportunity to compete for state championships. In other words, if a school refuses to discriminate against some of its students and simply allows F-1 students to compete for place on a varsity team like any other student, the school is blacklisted and cannot play for state championships. The result of the Rule is a guarantee that out of the hundreds (if not thousands) of students who will win state championships this year — none of them will be an F-1 student. Under the Rule no F-1 student has any opportunity to compete in a playoff; no F-1 student will stand on a championship podium; and no F-1 student will receive a championship ring, trophy, or medal.”

In seeking the temporary restraining order, the lawsuit cites irreparable harm to Szymakowski and other foreign students who won’t be able to get their seasons back regardless of legal decisions down the road.