Hats off to the coaches who care
Sam Navarez resigned recently as head coach of the Gilroy High girls’ volleyball program. And whether we know it or not, we’ll miss him.
For three years, Navarez gave his heart and soul to the Mustangs.
Practices six times a week? Never missed one.
Vacations with his wife and three kids? Never took one.
Never any time.
That’s the life of a high school coach. They are hired to be a teacher to our kids. A babysitter. A coach. A mentor.
And for this, we pay them a whopping $1,800 a year, give or take a Benjamin or two. You don’t want to know what that comes out to per hour.
Let’s just say in most cases it makes minimum wage look like an hour in the life of Oprah.
Accoring to Navarez, though, you’d be hard-pressed to find a high school coach who even knows their exact stipend.
“You don’t think of pay,” Navarez said. “You think of what you’re hopefully doing in the lives of these kids.”
It’s not always easy, nor is it always cheap. Sometime the bus in unavailable and the coach forks over the gas money. Sometimes one or two of the kids don’t have money for dinner and the coach quietly takes care of it.
There are even those times when the price is more expensive than dollars can measure.
As his team struggled through a rough season, the frustration simply overtook Navarez at times. After a particularly bad loss to lowly Alisal, he broke down and cried at home.
“I felt everything just crashing down,” he said.
With a few weeks to go in this fall’s volleyball season, the 51-year-old was diagnosed with melancholy. But when the doctor told him to immediately give up one aspect of his busy life – and strongly suggested the coaching part – Navarez just as immediately rejected the idea.
He wasn’t going to give up on his girls. He wasn’t going to quit in the middle of the season.
Once the offseason arrived, though, he decided to put his immediate family first – and couldn’t we all take a lesson from that.
His youngest son is now a freshman in high school. He wanted to spend more time with him.
He and his wife have now been married 25 years. He wanted to spend more time with her.
In the end, he simply wanted to log more hours at home than he did at the gymnasium. But in the end, he said also didn’t regret one thing about his three years at Gilroy High – said he’d do it all again in a heartbeat.
You know why?
“The best part is the appreciation that comes afterward,” Navarez said. “I think that’s the biggest thing for anybody who works with young people – when the charges come back and say ‘thank you.’ And not just right afterward, but every time they see you.
“It’s then that you know you made a positive impact on a person. You forget about the tears shed or those times when you went home and beat yourself up about a loss or a decision you made. When you hear that ‘thank you,’ that’s when you know it was all worth it.”
With that in mind, let’s take a minute to say those two magical words to a host of GHS coaches that make a difference. That make a sacrifice. That make time for your kid or your grandkid or your little brother or sister.
I’m pretty sure I speak for the community when I say …
Thank you to Craig Martin and Art Silva, who I believe at last count coached a combined 22 teams at Gilroy High. Two nicer people you couldn’t find.
Thank you Adam and Erin Gemar, who basically created the sport of field hockey in this town and work their tails off all year long to make sure it doesn’t die. Whether it’s turning a girl into an elite player or helping her get into college, the Gemars are undeniably adored by both current players and alumni alike.
Thanks to Tom Clark, who has affected hundreds of lives as head coaching water polo, swimming and the Gilroy Gators.
Thanks to Armando Gonzalez, who has affected hundreds of lives coaching GHS wrestling and the Gilroy Hawks.
Thanks to City Manager Jay Baksa, who coaches the boys’ JV basketball team and makes sure the city of Gilroy runs smoothly on the side.
Thanks to Darren Yafai and Tim Pierleoni, who put in incredible hours taking care of big kids on the field and little kids off it.
Thanks to Eric Kuwada, who’s in the final year of a long tenure with the boys’ and girls’ golf teams. For years, he would pick up the dinner ticket for the day’s lowest scorer. Now he’s moving on to watch his son and daughter play Little League. One program’s loss is two kids’ gain.
Thanks to Clint Wheeler, who year-round takes care of the school’s baseball field like it was his first-born son.
Thanks to Guido Zvigzne, who basically saved the track and field program while managing twin babies and that wonderful drive down the Peninsula every day.
And finally, thanks to athletic director Jack Daley, whose oversees the whole operation with a touch of class that’s unmistakable to anyone who knows him. He’s a family man, but you name a GHS sporting event and he’s there.
If I had room, I would throw in the names of every coach in the community. For now, just know that we send you the warmest and most sincere ‘Thank You’ available.
What a balancing act you people weave. What a job you good people achieve.
What a debt of gratitude we owe you all.
Brett Edgerton is a columnist for South Valley Newspapers. He can be reached at be*******@************ch.com.
