Titletown
When it comes to sports dominance in the Central Coast Section,
we’ve all heard about the Francis’, the Bellarmine’s, the Valley
Christian’s, the Archbishop Mitty’s, etc, etc
…
After all, these are all private schools
– schools that are able to recruit kids from all over the Bay
Area. And that can make a huge difference on the scoreboard come
playoff time, which is why all of the recent athletic achievements
at San Benito High School are even more special and impressive.
CCS titles collect on SB High gymnasium walls
When it comes to sports dominance in the Central Coast Section, we’ve all heard about the Francis’, the Bellarmine’s, the Valley Christian’s, the Archbishop Mitty’s, etc, etc…
After all, these are all private schools – schools that are able to recruit kids from all over the Bay Area. And that can make a huge difference on the scoreboard come playoff time, which is why all of the recent athletic achievements at San Benito High School are even more special and impressive.
In the last year alone, San Benito High has won CCS Division I titles in girls basketball and softball, and was the CCS runner up in baseball, volleyball and wrestling.
As it stands now, San Benito High – a once-rural school with a farmer carrying a pitchfork for a mascot – is arguably the top public school in the Section when it comes to athletics.
Down here in Baler land the noise that this small city’s high school athletes have made on the playing field is indisputable. And that’s amazing when you consider the size and population and talent pool of the schools in the San Jose area.
And the accomplishments aren’t short-lived. In addition to the aforementioned achievements, San Benito High has won a number of titles over the last decade. San Benito High’s softball team won Section titles in 2006 and 2007, and was the runner-up twice in 2003 and 2001. The boys cross country team has also won a Section title (2003) and finished second once (2004) over the same period. As has the girls volleyball team, which won it all in 2006 and finished second in 2005 and 2001. And the Balers’ football team won a CCS title in 2005 after finishing second in 2004, 2003 and 2001.
And this isn’t even addressing the seemingly countless league titles the Balers have won during this period. I’m just wondering how long it will take before there is no room on the gymnasium walls to hang a banner? It seems like every year the athletic department needs to buy one or two.
While all of this may be a surprise to some people a lot of area coaches expected it. I remember talking with a coach at Live Oak High School several years back who told me to look out for San Benito High in the near future because Hollister was becoming what Morgan Hill was in the 1970s – a bedroom community with a number of young families that had an abundance of children.
He pointed out how initially young couples would flee San Jose in order to be able to purchase a home in the small suburban community of Morgan Hill, which ultimately benefited Live Oak High School in the area of athletic team titles in the 1980s and 1990s. And that over the last decade that same demographic that first fled San Jose and the Peninsula for Morgan Hill was now fleeing to Hollister, where homes were still reasonably priced compared to the Bay Area.
I think that fact combined with the abundance of outstanding, dedicated coaches at San Benito High has further fueled the winning tradition. Whatever the case, it makes my job a lot more exciting and a heck of a lot more fun…
