Page 18 - CH Winter17 Flipbook

C A S C I A H A L L A T H L E T I C S BY LINDSAY RODGERS
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Cascia Football Coach Brings Unique Perspective
Coach Joe Medina is one of many coaches on staff at Cascia Hall that makes the athletic program one-of-a-kind. It’s not just his unique football career record of 252 wins, 72 losses,
and 2 ties. It’s not the impressive 4 state championships and 3 nalists as the Cascia head coach. It’s not the fact that he has been a part of all nine State Championships the Commando football team has earned. It’s the unique perspective that few coaches in any school can say they have - true personal understanding of their athletes’ daily struggles, experiences and expectations both on and off the eld.
Football Coach Joe Medina can relate directly to the academic struggles of the young men under his leadership. Medina sat in the exact same classroom that his players sit in today (and was even taught by Mr. Howe just like many of them have been!). He can use the phrase “I’ve sat where you’re sitting” and literally mean it. For this coach, there is a true understanding of the academic rigor and high expectations that Cascia Hall demands of its student athletes, as he was held to that same standard as a high school student. It is rare that a football coach truly understands his players as students, not just as players on the eld.
With an appreciation and passion for his own Augustinian education,Medina matriculated from Cascia toVillanova University to play football for two years before transferring to the University ofTulsa to earn a Bachelor of Science in
Coach Medina leads the team in prayer following the 2016 football game against Holland Hall.
Biology. Keeping in tradition with his Augustinian roots, Joe taught and coached at St.Augustine High School in San Diego, California, before returning to Cascia Hall where he has remained since 1999.With this experience, Joe does not just “talk” about Augustinian values, rather he leads by example. The Augustinian tradition of education was ingrained in Medina as a youth. He appreciated that education so much that he sent his own children, Jessie ’10 and Joey ’17 to Cascia in hopes of the same experience for them. Commando football players see a true Augustinian educator, not just a football coach, when looking up to their seasoned leader.
As a child of immigrant parents from Ecuador, Medina wasn’t raised in a football household. Though his parents couldn’t teach him about rst downs and tackles, they succeeded in indoctrinating hard work and dedication. Joe had to teach himself everything about football and was forced to work harder than the young men around him. He knows rst-hand the struggles of a football player and what they have to do to succeed - he had to do those very things himself. Each year the Commandos are instructed to live with a “Championship Attitude.” Medina’s coined motto includes three expectations:“Do Right,Work Hard, and Make a Positive Impact.” The intention is that these young men carry this with them throughout life, much like Joe has strived to do himself.
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