Submitted by Kai-lee Berke, A Coronado parent and member of the Football Booster Club
I’d like to share information about our incredible football team and the importance of great coaches—particularly in this recovery year…
I’m a mother of a CHS football player and a life-long educator. My work now focuses on the impact of exposure to trauma, early adversity and high levels of stress on students. This past year-and-a-half has been extremely challenging for children and families. With the stress of the pandemic—financial insecurity, loss of routine and structure, cancelled plans, a lot of time in close quarters, loss of loved-ones, the strain of worry about getting sick—families have been experiencing trauma and adversity at an alarming rate. This kind of stress has a disproportionate impact on children, whose brains and bodies are still developing. Our state Surgeon General has an ACEs (Adverse Childhood Experiences) initiative for this very reason! The most important, protective factor—the thing that helps best to build resilience in children—is the presence of a supportive, trusting relationship with an adult who cares about them. It doesn’t have to be a child’s parent. In fact, many times it is a teacher or a coach who provides that protective buffer between a child and the negative impact of adversity.
My son is not the next Peyton Manning who dreams of going to the NFL. He is a surfer, a natural engineer and history buff who spends most of his time in his workshop building and creating things when he’s not working at Village Hardware. But he loves being a member of the team. He loves working hard for his coaches. And I see the way the other players do, too. The coaches of the Coronado football team, led by Kurt Hines, are extraordinary. I’ve spent most of my professional career writing and speaking about the critical importance of the adult-child relationship. These coaches exemplify best practice in relationship-building in ways that warm my heart and make me so hopeful about the future. They know these players well. They make them feel seen and valued. They are kind but tough—setting a very high bar while both challenging and supporting these young athletes to reach it. Talk about resilience-building! Coach Hines supports students off the field as well, taking a genuine interest in their other endeavors and their academic pursuits. His passion for football, teaching and building strong values in his players have earned him a large social media following!
Our coaches and sports programs are a critical part of helping children recover from this tumultuous time and to learn how to weather the future storms that life brings. Like all sports programs at the high school, football must fundraise each year to keep these programs going (our public schools DO NOT fully fund the sports program). In the strange, shortened season we had last year, Coronado football managed to bring home the championship title. We’re facing a tougher division this year, but under Coach Hines’ leadership, the team is up for the challenge!
If anyone is interested in supporting the team and the phenomenal coaching staff, they can make a donation on our Coronado Football Boosters GoFundMe page or they can reach out to the Football Booster Board at [email protected] to learn about donations and sponsorship opportunities. We are fundraising for new uniforms and have a donor match in place, so any amount folks donate will be double the impact!
And we’d love to see the community come out to the games this season!
Sincerely,
Kai-lee Berke
A Coronado parent and member of the Football Booster Club
