Championship Dream Made Reality Due to Commitment and a Whole Lot of Support

Dear Editor,The players and coaches of Gilroy High School’s
Central Coast Section championship varsity soccer team are writing
to thank our community, our school, our family and our friends. YOU
were part of our journey and part of our dream. Without your open
arms, our championship would not have been possible.
Championship Dream Made Reality Due to Commitment and a Whole Lot of Support

Dear Editor,

The players and coaches of Gilroy High School’s Central Coast Section championship varsity soccer team are writing to thank our community, our school, our family and our friends. YOU were part of our journey and part of our dream. Without your open arms, our championship would not have been possible.

At the start of this season, as a team, we committed ourselves to do everything with passion: passion on the field, passion in the classroom and passion in practice. We also promised each other that we would be a “family.” We would be a family committed to supporting each other, motivating each other and ensuring each other’s success.

As the season progressed, it became obvious that our passion was only a small part of what we needed to be successful. And, it was obvious that our “family” was much bigger than the 19 players and two coaches. Along the road to the title, our “family” grew. Our “family” was embraced by our classmates, our teachers and administrators, and by the community as a whole. As we advanced into the playoffs, the support and energy of the 48,000 inhabitants of our city, Gilroy, radiated throughout the team.

As we took the field for each of our playoff games, we were enthralled by the supporters in the stands. We will never forget the chanting, the singing, the flag waving and the pure joy of our extended “family.” Most will remember the CCS final for our unexpected win over 12-time champion Bellarmine. But, the players and coaches will remember the final for the excitement created by our supporters and the goose bumps each of us got as we watched our extended “family” pack the stadium and fill the air with jubilant tunes of support.

We would be remiss if we did not offer a special round of applause and thanks to a few individuals who went the extra mile to ensure our journey ended with a 17-2-5 record:

n Jack Daley, Gilroy High Athletic Director and CCS Athletic Director of the Year for his unwavering support throughout the year;

n Jennifer Lewis, Gilroy High Math Teacher for her late-night tutoring sessions;

n Clint Zollinger, Fritter and Schulz Physical Therapy for keeping our weary bodies in one piece;

n Ricardo Espinosa, Net Fitness and alumni for giving us a year-round venue to build our bodies so we could stand foot-to-foot with bigger, more physical teams;

n Marc David, Gilroy Dispatch sports editor for your personal touch and getting to know us as individuals not just athletes;

n Gilroy High alumni who flooded the stands all season long and for losing the alumni game and thereby showing us how much fun winning can be; and

n Our parents, friends, and loved ones for giving us the opportunity to pursue our dreams and for supporting us through the ups and downs of a long season.

We hope that in winning the TCAL league title and eventually the CCS title, we were able to unite a community and leave a legacy that our community can be proud of for years to come. We also hope that we have added to the Gilroy tradition started by the 2003-04 CCS finalist team and have primed the foundation for Gilroy’s future student-athlete stars.

Thank you, “family!” You ignited our passion, fueled our hearts, and encouraged us to be a “family” of destiny. Because of your support, we had no fear. We just had dreams. There were no mountains too high. Just mountains that challenged us to excel and push one another. THANKS to our supporters for carrying us on your shoulders as we beat the number one and two seeds. We hope we made you proud.

Gilroy High School varsity soccer team players and coaches, Jose “Tapon” Velasquez, Humberto Pineda, Jairo Rodriguez, Jesus Diaz, Noel Vera, Kevin Grove, Eric Miller, Edgar Hernandez, Jose Armando Hernandez, Randy Moya, Oscar Zuniga, Anthony Velazquez, Bruce Ocana, Carlos Cortez, Andy Moya, Pablo Figueroa, Forrest Alvarez, Victor Garcia, Josh Gonzalez and coaches Armando Padilla and Brian Hall

The Golden Quill is awarded occasionally for a well-written letter.

‘P.T. Barnum’ Reference WouldBe More Appropriate as a Nod to ‘Cirque de Solei’

Dear Editor,

Thank you for your careful coverage and side-splitting satirical commentary in recent weeks about my new solar environmental homes. I did however want to point out a few carefully placed words and phrases that change the tenor of your recent front-page story detailing our unanimous City Council approval.

Planning Commissioner Joan Spencer had not ever a glimmer of an idea that she may be on the commission when she reserved online the www.GilroyIndependence.org site for me some years ago. She was just appointed to the commission last year and never paid for the URL nor the Web site. I offered my corporate credit card records to prove this point to your reporter.

Mrs. Spencer, on her own, several weeks before the vote, obtained a legal opinion from the city attorney indicating she could vote on the Planning Commission in favor or against my urban in-fill solar homes. Spencer, on her own, wrote to and obtained a written decision from the California Fair Political Practices Commission that spelled out that which she did for me some time ago regarding my Web site and other ordinary favors close friends do for each other.

The FPPC put in writing that she was not in violation of any laws nor moral obligations in her role as an appointed city official. Nonetheless, she still recused herself and did not vote despite multiple government advisories indicating she could, each she asked for herself, and none that “cleared” her as if there had been an investigation after the fact.

In closing, your characterization of me as the P.T. Barnum of a three-ring circus is off the mark. Our elected leaders conducted perhaps the most probing inquest into a mere 18-unit housing project in recent city history.

More appropriately, instead of Ringling Brothers you might have said our project illuminated solar technology and its benefits to Gilroy nimbly and cleverly more akin to my forefather’s Cirque de Solei from Quebec.

Chris Cote, Gilroy

Editor’s note: Credit for the P.T. Barnum likening is, in fact, due to

City Councilman Russ Valiquette.