If you have any doubt about the importance of San Benito High
School and the ‘Balers to the city of Hollister, just head down to
the Andy Hardin Stadium on a Friday night in autumn.
If you have any doubt about the importance of San Benito High School and the ‘Balers to the city of Hollister, just head down to the Andy Hardin Stadium on a Friday night in autumn.
The stadium will be overflowing with students, alumni, parents and others from the community, all gathered to cheer on the red, white and black.
“It brings everyone together. It’s like a magnet: It just draws everyone in,” said Chris Brigantino, who has had four children graduate from SBHS and currently has one junior enrolled. “The camaraderie there, it’s like nothing else. It’s almost hard to describe unless you just go and witness it. Sit there, and be a part of it. It’s like one big family.”
Like many residents of Hollister, Brigantino attends nearly every home football game, despite the fact that he no longer has any children on the team. He even travels to many of the away games.
“It’s a one high school town and it’s the focal point of the community – that’s a dying thing in California. And the support from the community is huge,” SBHS Athletic Director Tod Thatcher said.
emphasize to the students.
“Through the (athletic) program we always talk about, obviously you always represent your school and your parents and yourself, but you represent the whole community as well. The Haybalers really represent the whole town of Hollister,” Thatcher said.
Christine Plank, who teaches theater at San Benito High School, echoed this idea, which she says the school’s faculty works hard to instill in their students.
“I think we always hope as teachers … that they’re playing roles in the community that show respect,” Plank said.
With the idea that the high school is creating the future of the town, many parents and community members are willing to offer their support – both financial and physical, through volunteering.
The school would not be the cornerstone of the community that it is without the support it receives. Parents like Brigantino devote much of their free time to helping with various school activities. Brigantino volunteers with the football team and with the FFA booster club.
“The high school would be hard pressed if the community did not support them,” Huston said. Despite not having any students at the school anymore, she devotes much of her time to volunteering for SBHS. For the second year in a row, Huston is working on planning a “senior grad night,” a party for seniors intended to discourage post-graduation drinking.
While parents and community members make the school strong, many programs within the school also contribute to the community. The school’s strong FFA club, for those interested in agriculture, continues to grow and improve, doubling in size over the last four years.
“We’re still an agriculture community and we continue to have a strong ag program with a lot of connections to the community,” Robledo said.
As the school moves forward into its third century as an institution, many members of the community and school staff members wonder what changes future growth in Hollister will bring to San Benito High School. Some predict that a second high school will have to be built in Hollister.
“We have a lot to be proud of,” Robledo said. “For me it’s hard to predict if there’s going to be good or bad changes. I just know we have a strong base and a caring community with a caring student body.”
The community support for the high school is not limited to athletics. San Benito High School is the cultural hub of Hollister. Producing around 500 graduates each year, many alumni come back to teach at the school, start nonprofits in the county and contribute to the community.
While many locals attended the high school, it wasn’t always the large, multi-faceted institution that it is today.
San Benito High School was originally built in 1875 on San Benito Street in what used to be a small grammar school. In stark contrast to the current student population of around 2900, the school saw only 57 graduates in its first six years.
According to school records, after the student body began to grow, plans were made for a new building – located in the place of the current main administration building on Monterey Street. This larger school was completed in 1909, with continuing additions with the growth of the town and the growth of the school. Since then, the school has been rebuilt, remodeled and expanded.
“The end result is a very beautiful campus and a very extensive campus,” said Juan Robledo, who serves as activities director and has taught at SBHS for 32 years. The school now has more than 120 classrooms to accommodate the large student body, which currently looms at nearly 3,000 students.
While the school may have come from humble beginnings, it is now a large high school with numerous course offerings and after school programs. And with 35 percent of the population of the city under the age of 18, according to the 2005 census estimate, it will be an institution that continues to shape the community.
“The school is the community and the community is the school,” said Marci Huston, the parent of a San Benito High School alumnus. “I think the high school is the community’s representatives.”
This is something that administrators, teachers and coaches say they try to
