Sande CharlesBoulder Creek’s Head Coach Tony Casarella’s love for the game, his players, his community, and his family is evident on and off the field. The Jaguars hearts were broken in the 2020 season when they lost to the Highland Hawks in the 6A state semifinal game, but as they say in show business, ” the show must go on.” And that is just what Boulder Creek is doing.
Just two weeks after their season, they were already back to work. The team had chosen their eight captains for the year, and planning for 2021 got underway. Now, when I say Coach Casarella’s love for the game, the community, and his family is evident, I don’t mean it rhetorically; I mean Coach Cas is living it and breathing it. In fact, his dad has not missed a game, “he’s like the general manager of the team,” Coach Casarella told Sports360AZ. He was even at the last game of the season, that gut-punching semi-final game. Coach Cas mentioned he only got one ticket to the game, and he knew it would be for his dad.
Speaking of that semifinal game again, before the game, I needed to have a meeting with Coach Cas. I couldn’t find him anywhere… later, he came walking on the field and mentioned he walks the school grounds, thanking every volunteer working the game that night, whether it’s security, parking attendant, snack bar, you name it, the Boulder Creek head coach is out there shaking hands personally and thanking them for their time. Why? Because the coach is not only talking the talk, he is walking the walk. Anthem is a family, and he couldn’t do his job without them,
“It’s important you are thankful. You are treating the people right that are working here to make it special… That is something I want to preach to my team. Don’t expect this stuff to happen… These people are volunteering their time. I want to make sure that they are much appreciated… These are our people. They are part of this event.”
As for eyes on next season, the sixth-year Head Coach feels like they have a lot of momentum from last season.
“It has been really good so far. It’s not only the players that have this momentum. It’s everyone in town that feels like there is no reason we can’t do this every year,” he said. “The parents are all behind me…. the captains took the initiative and said, hey, we are ready to go. What do you need us to do?”
And do just that, already a month into their offseason, they have been working on their mentorship program, weight training, and starting to get the practice schedule down on paper. The ball is rolling and rolling fast into 2021—all eyes are on the Boulder Creek Jaguars.
