Justine Chavez
@JUSTINECHAVEZ01
“Average leaders raise the bar on themselves; good leaders raise the bar for others; great leaders inspire others to raise their own bar.”
LPC’s Women’s Soccer coach Paul Sapsford embodies everything a true leader should. His dedication to his players and hunger to win is only a small glimpse as to why he was named Coach of the Year.
“Winning the award is definitely appreciated but I’m just glad the women are getting community recognition for their hard work,” said Sapsford.
Sapsford has been the women’s soccer coach at Las Positas for four years but this year was something special. The Lady Hawks went undefeated in the regular season and after a 26 year drought, they won the conference title which has never been done in the history of LPC women’s soccer.
Born and raised in London, Sapsford has always had a burning passion for soccer. He played for almost 20 years before he decided to trade in his cleats for a whistle. Although, you can ask any of his players, or even colleagues, they will all tell you he is more than just a coach.
“Paul is very diligent. He pays attention to detail and he always has a smile on his face. He’s truly such a good guy and it shows everyday,” said Kinesiology instructor Steve Navarro.
When it comes to his soccer team, Sapsford doesn’t play around. This season he made sure to recruit players that not only had talent, but had heart and integrity as well.
“Paul is a really good coach, he pushes us to do our best but it all comes down to how much effort you put in.” Said Forward Paola Samaniego. “He has the right idea in mind and this year attributed to the teams success. The coach of the year award he received was definitely well deserved.”
Before making his way to Las Positas, Sapsford coached NCAA D1 teams for six years.
“Having coached D1 for so long, I got disillusioned with the integrity of the NCAA and in particular, their exploitation of student athletes.” Said Sapsford. “I found coaching D1 rather one dimensional and I prefer the stimulation of teaching academic disciplines.”