HOTLB: how does a good coach impact highschool sports?
The impact of a coach can make or break a students' experience with a sport, especially in high school. A good coach can instill values of hard work, teamwork and discipline, all of which contribute to an athlete's life outside the game. Instead of breaking the athletes down, good coaches create a strong and safe environment welcome to growth and learning opportunities for their players. Through team building and forming strong relationships with their athletes, a good coach will take a team to the next level.
Olivia Stephansen / The Samohi
“The coach that influenced me the most is Coach Hecht because he taught me how to play smarter, helped me get the ball to my team, make the right decisions on offense and hustle on defense. Having a good coach motivates the team, gets us all fired up and helps team chemistry¨
- Onieli Thruston (’26)
Olivia Stephansen/ The Samohi
“Coach Sato had a huge influence on me this year because she is always pushing you to be your best and she's always motivating me to do everything I can to improve. I think if a coach wants you to be successful it will be really helpful for representing the school, academics and athletics,”
- Laila Ghaffari (’28)
Olivia Stephansen/ The Samohi
“Ramsey Lambert has had a super positive impact on me because of his passion for flag football and the effort he's put into my team and my experience with flag football. I think it's important to have a good coach because they influence your values and set good expectations and standards,”
- Jayla Johnson- Lake (’25)
Olivia Stephansen / The Samohi
“One coach that has had a positive impact on me is Chris Sandoval. He gave me the opportunity to train with a higher level including the varsity soccer team which helped me grow as an individual and gain a lot of knowledge. Having a good coach gets you more access in the realm of sports, ideas and more ways to improve,”
-Nicholas Youssef (’27)
Olivia Stephansen / The Samohi
“Our coach Ms. Pazzi came in while we had a really bad main coach, she made people feel cared for and actually paid attention to players. I think that's important as a highschool team because there's much going on. Having a coach who understands that and listens to your concerns can make the whole process of high school sports much easier”
-Drew Sievers(’25)
Olivia Stephansen / The Samohi
“Coach Vonzie influenced me as a person throughout football because of the way he coached and the way he talked to us. While we were practicing he would always tell us to do our best no matter what. He wouldn't push us to the point where we wouldn't want to play the sport anymore, he kept the love for the game in tact”
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Simon Vazquez Rodgriuez(’26)