Look out, Mountain View Preparatory Academy — there’s an even newer team in town.
St. Joseph’s Catholic School, a private kindergarten to eighth-grade institution located at 2715 E. SR 89A, got its first winter sports win ever in December, 22-15, over the girls basketball “C” team at Cottonwood Middle School.
“Last year, we didn’t win any,” athletic director Tony Hernandez said. “It took the team to saying, ‘Wow, if we keep practicing, we can actually win.’”
Thursday, March 12, Hernandez has his sights set on a first win for his golf team at either Pine Shadows Golf Course or Verde Santa Fe Country Club before fall expansion into the Northern Arizona Athletic Association — and onto a new campus.
“I used to be the A.D. at Harvest Preparatory Academy in Yuma, and one of things I used to do at that school was coach golf,” he said. “It occurred to me, that’s an easy individual sport, and if I get eight, sometimes 10 schools from the league together, anybody can play.”
When Hernandez took the job in 2013 after six years as a teacher and coach at Oak Creek Ranch School, St. Joseph’s had no sports, save a fledgling track and field program looking for a new coach after founder Ruth Gallegos had left the year before.
“Once she was gone, the question was, ‘Who’s going to do it?’” he said. “We had a flag football team ready to go, but the league fell apart.”
So Hernandez went to work, scheduling a spring track meet for Mingus Union High School and four boys and girls basketball games last winter on his way to starting up seven new sports teams at St. Joseph’s.
“Parents were lining up to say, ‘I’ll help with whatever I can — let’s keep it going,’” he said. “Two weeks ago, some guy just bought five balls and said, ‘Here you go, for your basketball team.’
“It was just a matter of, ‘What do you need? Here’s 30 balls, 15 for each team.’ This community, the parents, they want more sports.”
For the full story, please see the Wednesday, Feb. 25, issue of the Cottonwood Journal Extra.
