[Sports] Do Sports at CHAH Matter?

Samuel Velasquez Rodriguez

People all around the world visit CHAH to see what kind of education the kids are receiving but also ask about the sports at the school. Some might even ask, “What do the coaches want for their players?” So, we uncovered how coaches feel about leading a team. Most of the coaches from CHAH coach the sport they played when they were younger in hopes of giving the students the opportunity they didn’t have as kids. At CHAH there’s some great coaches who are very understanding and push their players to do better..

For this article we spoke to Paul Dejesus, the coach of baseball, Randy Bowen, the guidance counselor of 11th and 12th grade, and Michael King, the coach of the middle school soccer boys and boys basketball.  Both Dejesus and King manage to create a relationship with the players on the team inside of school, but also outside of the school because it builds the confidence and it also helps them to learn how to support each other and help each other out when needed.

“I like to spend as much time with them not playing basketball in addition to spending much time I can not at CHAH so our basketball team plays in summer, fall, spring leagues and that gives me a way to get to know them personally and not just in the building or in the classroom. It allows the team to not just be a team but also a program and it allows the kids involved to feel a part of it and it allows me to work better with them,” said Mr. King. He believes that it’s healthy to create relationships with the boys inside of school and also outside of school and teach them how to push each other to be confident and also support each other.

“Sometimes I feel I am too passionate and want the whole team to succeed on and off the field more than the players at times,” said Mr. Dejesus. He believes that being passionate could really make a difference and could push you to want to make the team better and win. “My number one goal in working with the students that play baseball, is to see them graduate high school and go on to be productive members of society.”

The former girls basketball coach and high school guidance counselor, Bowen, believes that we could help one another and we could be each other’s motivation: “I think with team sports, it’s about the collective. So thinking about what the ultimate goal is and also, psychologically, thinking about what everybody’s personal motivation is and then kind of bringing it all together. So usually when players join the team, they’re interested in the sport, they want to learn more. What comes out of it is a brother or sisterhood,” said Mr. Bowen. He believes that when everyone’s personal motivation comes together they could all do better as a team and also for themselves. Once you’re in a team and you go through losses and wins with the team after a while they become more than a team, they become like family.

The coaches on the team try to lead every player in the right path and help them with things that they can’t seem to figure out on their own. “I have built many great relationships with former players, current and even some coaches that I compete against. I guess in the end, those relationships and memories are just as if not more important than winning!” said Mr. Bowen. This quote shows that sometimes it’s more than just a win, it’s more about creating memories with people on the team, working together, figuring ways to make the team better as they go. When mistakes happen in the team they don’t give up on each other or get mad at each  other, instead they help each other with making a better choice next time.

Coaches in the school live to build relationships between peers and themselves, they allow kids in the school to be able to do the things they most love and enjoy doing.