Page 14 - Priorities 4

Athletics Superbowl
to Basketball
dictable place, but, when playing sports, the situa- tion is always changing. The variables are never the same. That makes sports a good microcosm of the way we live, John commented. He takes the oppor- tunity to teach teamwork, sportsmanship, responsi- bility and self-motivation, he says.
One “something extra” that John enjoys is the multi-cultural make-up of his Priory team. “It’s truly remarkable that we have one Frenchman, one Russian, three Asians, and two African-Americans, all on one small team. This just adds to our overall character. This team has a uniqueness about it, and I really enjoy working with each of these boys,” John explains.
John’s other involvement in his field is his sports promotion and property management busi- ness which has its headquarters in Menlo Park.
Woodside Priory Coach John Paye has lived out every young athlete’s dream of professional sports, taking his career right to the top.
Beginning as an all-around star athlete at Menlo School, he went on to play football and basketball at Stanford University, and then to a quarterback slot on the San Francisco ‘49ers. His time with the Niners included the unforgettable experience of Superbowl 23 against Cincinnati Bengals.
Four surgeries on his throwing shoulder effec- tively sidelined John ‘s professional career in 1990, “about eight years sooner than I’d wanted it to end,” he candidly admits.
Today, he enjoys sports from another perspective — the shaping of young players.
“I enjoy coaching very, very much. It’s an oppor- tunity to be involved in competitive sports, and Coach (Bill) August is the main reason I’m here at the Priory,” John says. Being a product of a small, private school himself, he likes small schools, and
he likes the high quality of Woodside Priory’s basketball facilities, he adds.
While he was with the 49ers, John was already coaching high school girls basketball. Guiding his sister through four years of the sport was particularly satisfying; she went on to play for Stanford and is now playing professional womens basketball, he says.
Bill August, WPS’s director of athletics, coached John at Menlo, and the two
stayed in touch. Bill brought John to the Priory to coach girls basketball in 1993, and this spring John is coaching boys basketball.
“I am a big believer in teaching and learning the game on a daily basis. You can see improvement and skill growth day by day, week by week. I love seeing kids catch on and start that process of gradu- al improvement,” he says.
John thinks students learn important life skills in team sports. The classroom can be a static and pre-
Awards
Private Schools Athletic League All-League Players Fall 1996 First Team - All League Soccer
Ramiro Arredondo
Second Team - All League Volleyball
Michelle Floyd
Honorable Mention, Volleyball
Jennifer Upjohn Anne Mecham
League Champions:
Seventh Grade Girls Volleyball Sixth Grade Boys Flag Football
Priory Coach John Paye’s time with the Niners included the
unforgettable
experience of Superbowl 23 against Cincinnati Bengals.
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Sixth grade teacher and coach Jeff Rasp says it is an advantage to get to know his students in both spheres.