GILROY—Sean Kaufman is always running. Whether it’s over hills during cross country, around the track as part of Gilroy’s relay teams or toward the ball in football and soccer, he’s always in motion.
Kaufman was already a three-sport athlete having played soccer since freshman year, track since sophomore year and picking up cross country in his junior year, but decided to add one more as a senior. Hearing the Mustangs needed a kicker and knowing Coach Brian Boyd since playing soccer with his son Brandon when he was younger, Kaufman offered his services—and he’s been kickin’ it with them ever since.
“Definitely he’s added to our team with the kicking game,” Boyd said noting Kaufman has been named Special Teams Player of the Week several times this season. “He’s (Kaufman) a phenomenal kicker, I wish we would’ve had him last year. He would’ve competed with Alex (Vega) for the job. I think he’s every bit as strong, every bit as accurate.”
But adding football hasn’t lessened Kaufman’s commitment to cross country. He proved that by notching a fourth place finish at the Monterey Bay League Center Meet III on Oct. 22 at Christmas Hill Park. His performances this season has helped the Mustangs claim two first place finishes at the MBL Center Meet I and MBL Center Meet II.
“When he’s with us, he adds quite a bit of leadership by how he performs,” cross country coach Cathy Silva said. “By coming to practice and working hard at practice and coming to a meet and going all out even though he was having a hard time with his asthma for a little bit, he sets an example.”
Playing two sports in one season has made Kaufman’s time valuable. When school lets out, he jets off to cross country practice until 5:30 p.m. After that, he’ll throw on his helmet and shoulder pads to catch the remainder of football practice. There’s no rest when he gets home either and even brunch and lunch aren’t sacred as Kaufman needs time get his homework done, but the Gilroy senior said it’s all worth it.
“I just like being able to have two teams,” he said. “Cross country and football are completely different, so the people there are completely different but they’re super nice. It’s cool to meet everyone.”
Being involved in as many sports as Kaufman is doesn’t come without its sacrifices. The senior said a social life isn’t really an option, but he’s found one through sports. He’s had to be extra vigilant about his schoolwork, especially college applications, as he’s planning on studying mechanical engineering at Stanford or Cal Poly.
There’s no offseason for Kaufman either. As soon as cross country and football wrap up, it’s onto his first love: soccer. He’s played since he was 3 years old and joined the Mustangs his freshman year. While he enjoys being involved in all the sports, he said soccer holds a special place in his heart.
“I just love having a ball at my feet, the grass—just everything,” Kaufman said.
It’s high tempo; it just keeps going. … Soccer is just continuous and I like that. I’ve just always loved soccer. You don’t wear too much, it’s nice and light and you can just kick a ball as hard as you can.”
In the spring, you can find Kaufman running the 400- and 800-meter races as well as with the relay teams. He also does the long and triple jump events. It’s here, Silva said, that Kaufman’s athleticism really shines.
“Those are very difficult races because it’s speed and endurance at the same time,” she said. “If you run it well, you’re going to feel like you need to collapse when you cross the line. He has the ability to do that; he has the ability to push through what he’s feeling in the race in order to perform at his best.”
Kaufman said the football coaches have stressed the importance of setting goals and he has set one for each of his sports this year. In football, he wants to make a kick-off through the goal post—and he’s getting close. He’s gotten the distance down, but has been off target and when he’s been on target, he came up short in distance.
For cross country, Kaufman said he’s working on getting his time down into the 17-minute range. His third place finish at the MBL Center Meet II came in a time of 18:15, so he’ll be working on shaving at least 16 seconds off before the season is over.
One Central Coast Section championship isn’t enough and Kaufman said his goal is to bring home another soccer title in his senior year.
“You win it once and you’re like ‘I want to do it again’,” he said with a smile stretched wide across his face.
For track, Kaufman said he his goal is simple: don’t get hurt before the MBL trials like he did last year.
All of these inter-sport aspirations are part of the senior’s bigger goal of landing a scholarship. He knows his schools of choice come with a hefty price tag, so he’s hoping sports can help alleviate the financial burden.
“At this point, I’d be fine with playing any of them (sports) in college,” Kaufman said. “Growing up it’s always been the dream to play soccer just because that’s what I’ve always played.”
The old adage goes that a little hard work can go a long way. In Kaufman’s case, it looks like the sky’s the limit.
