Hollister
– Growing up in New York State, Bob Bies didn’t really play
sports.
Hollister – Growing up in New York State, Bob Bies didn’t really play sports.
It’s not because he didn’t want to. He just didn’t have a chance, he said. His parents divorced at age 7, and he was raised by his mother.
“There wasn’t the money,” said Bies, 40, originally from Buffalo. “There wasn’t any opportunity.”
Now a Hollister resident, Bies has taken an opportunity to relive a part of the childhood he missed.
The father of three has been volunteering with the City of Hollister Recreation Department and other youth leagues, coaching four different sports in all.
With two daughters, Breanna, 12, and Melissa, 11, and an 8-year-old son, Corbin, Bies has coached soccer, baseball, basketball and flag football teams.
For Bies, it’s a chance to provide his children opportunities he missed.
“I understand not having the opportunity to play sports,” Bies said.
Bies gives four or five hours per week to coaching. Depending on the season, it could be more.
Tina Garza, recreation department coordinator, said Bies has been a fixture ever since his oldest daughter, Breanna, was little.
“Since she was young she’s participated and Bob has coached her,” Garza said.
Garza said Bies has been dedicated to Hollister recreation and more volunteers like him would not only strengthen the department’s programs, but also help with budget constraints.
Bies also sits on the board of the Hollister Tremors soccer team and is working to upgrade soccer facilities in Hollister.
Another reward of volunteering is watching his players harmonize by a season’s end, Bies said.
“To be able to get them to work as a unit is pretty rewarding,” he said.
In 1988, the electrical engineer escaped the Buffalo winters and moved to California for work. Bies had worked as a consultant but two years ago took a job as a project manager with Planned Parenthood in San Jose.
The job, although hectic recently, has given him more free time to spend with family. While consulting, Bies was working up to 80 hours a week.
