Being involved in a sport requires more than just practicing and playing games after school. There are activities during school that help teams prepare for games and create a special bond. These in-school activities would not be possible without the help of coaches, who provide mentorship and structure and help shape the students’ success. These coaches teach at Campo but take time during school to check in with their players and build a better team community. Coaches must balance school and sports to have a successful program. Kevin Macy, who will be coaching his 30th year at Campolindo next fall, said, “[Teaching and coaching] need to be full-time jobs. You have to squeeze them into one. I make my whole world here at Campolindo.”
Even though practices and games are only during the fall, football is a year-round sport. Macy teaches geometry, but during lunch and academy, his classroom has many football players in there. Senior offensive lineman Avery Jules said, “There’s a lot of team bonding that happens because he’s on campus. Just being able to be in his classroom for lunch and for academy, we can all hang out together during the day.” While Macy only coaches varsity, he is also involved in the freshman and JV teams. The freshmen and sophomores also hang out in his classroom and with Coach Macy. He meets with them regularly and prepares them for their journey to varsity.
Junior Zach Tabibian and Jules say they talk to Macy “every day.” Tabibian says, “I think we can have a closer bond with him than a coach who isn’t on campus all the time.” Macy talks to the players and helps them with football, school, and life, creating a strong sense of community within the team.
Macy believes that being on campus prepares his team more and makes them better players. He said, “I don’t think I could be an off-campus coach and have the same success. We ask our kids to really grow and overachieve. Being on campus with the players all the time, I have a connection with them. I don’t think coming off campus and trying to push kids would work if I didn’t have a real bond with them.”
The varsity football team meets every day during the season and once every two weeks during the off-season. They go over film and talk about off-season events during these meetings. There are a lot of logistics that go into preparing during the off-season. The players do not gameplan or watch film during these meetings. Instead, they create rosters, prepare equipment and uniforms, and make sure the roster does not get depleted. On game days, all the varsity players meet in Coach Macy’s room to prepare for their game. There are speeches from the players and they prepare for their game with their coach. Coach asks all of his coaches to show up on time to practice because he does not want to keep players late after school. Some schools hold practices at night because the coaches are not available instantly after school. Macy said, “I think it’s essential for these kids to practice immediately after school. It’s important for their academics.”
Basketball also has two coaches on campus during the day, Steven Dyer and James Williams. Dyer teaches World History and AP Psychology, while Williams teaches PE 9. Dyer has been coaching for nine years and said, “It’s hard during the basketball season, but it was probably hardest my first year, and luckily you get used to it.”
Senior point guard Ren Marchetti said, “Out of all the faculty and staff on Campo, I probably trust [Dyer] as well as Coach James the most.” Basketball has the advantage of having two coaches on campus, which helps them be more prepared for their practices and games.
The varsity boys’ basketball team has meetings during the season. They hold film sessions where they watch the opposing teams and their own film. These meetings sometimes happen in Coach Dyer’s classroom, and it helps with preparation for their games. If there is an issue in school or an academic problem, players have individual meetings with the coaches during school. Coach Dyer said, “I have relationships with their teachers, so I get to know how they are doing in their classes.” During the off-season, players prepare for the upcoming season and use these meetings at school to tell the new players about team culture.
The cross country team has Coach Woolridge, who teaches English 1. Woolridge takes cross-country very seriously and motivates his players. Junior Taejin Chung said, “We have some coaches who aren’t on the staff, which is different because seeing your coach on campus makes you more disciplined. It’s a reminder to stay on top of things.”
Having a coach on campus also creates more discipline because the coach knows what is going on at school. Jules said, “People are more accountable because they know Coach is around. They know teachers will reach out to him if something is going on in class.” Coaches often have to talk to their players if an academic or school issue arises.
Sophomore Amalia Contreras, who runs cross-country and took Woolridge’s class her freshman year, said “you can always go ask questions or talk to Coach Woolridge during school if you need something related to cross-country. If we aren’t going to be at practice, we can tell him, or if we have an injury, we can always go tell him during school.”
Not every sport has a coach on campus during school. Head Baseball coach, Julian Fiammengo, is only present after school for practices and games. Players must communicate with him through text or after school during practice. The players also do not hold meetings with their coach because he is away at his job. Fiammengo – or Mengo as his players call him – has to commute to Campo while the players have to wait for him to start the practices. Fortunately, “[Coach Mengo] responds to his texts pretty fast, so instead of talking to us, we have a group chat where he can text us what is happening with the game plan,” says senior Owen Ludwig.
On rainy days, Fiammengo cannot check out the baseball field, so the players have to go over there and decide what they can do. Ludwig said, “Overall, I think it would be nice to have Coach Mengo on campus, see him around school, and make ways for him to get to the baseball field and see the conditions. It’s just nice to have a coach you can talk to on campus. It’s fun to see them coaching and what they are like at school.”
Students don’t just talk about sports with their coaches. Players build stronger relationships by having their coaches on campus. Marchetti, who has been on varsity since his sophomore year, said, “Obviously, I can talk to them whenever I feel like about basketball, but also about more than basketball. It’s fun seeing them in the halls and cracking jokes with them. I’m grateful to have them as my coaches, and hopefully, we stay in touch after senior year.”
Coaches motivate their students and try to impact them not only athletically but also mentally. Chung said, “[Coach Woolridge] definitely encourages a hard work ethic which translates outside of cross-country into other aspects of your life like studying and school.” Coaches are role models who players often look up to. The presence of coaches on campus plays a crucial role in motivating athletes to push beyond their limits.
As Macy explained, “If I was an off-campus coach, we’d be very average. The kids would not achieve or overachieve. They wouldn’t have that same incentive. I can’t separate when people ask, ‘If you stop teaching, will you continue coaching?’ I don’t know how the two would work without the other.”
