When James Coronado isn’t shaping young minds on the basketball court, he’s doing so in the classroom.
The Bishop Diego boys basketball coach also serves as a fifth-grade teacher at Franklin Elementary. In the lead up to today’s CIF-SS Div. 5AA championship game against Arrowhead Christian, not only was Coronado trying to add some potential wrinkles for the boys to deploy as they seek their first boys title since 1978, he was also given the tall task of teaching 10- and 11-year-olds how to convert fractions to decimals.
“It’s a little crazy,” the 44-year-old Coronado said with a laugh.
Coronado has been with the Bishop program for the past six years. He actually interviewed for the head coaching vacancy in 2014, though the job was awarded to Jeff Koval as the school was seeking a coach who could work on campus. He served as an assistant under Koval for two seasons before Koval was let go.
“I was ready to do my thing at Franklin and then they called me and said ‘we want to try and make this off-campus thing work,’” Coronado said. “The rest is history.”
Coronado got his start at the local elementary school 22 years ago. He started as an after-school coach and just added on responsibilities from there. He has served as an instructional aide for a few years before spending the next 10 years as the P.E. teacher. He has spent the previous seven years teaching fifth grade.
While his current role as coach may seem drastically different than his job as a teacher, Coronado uses a similar approach to try and get the most out of those he works with.
“I learned a long time ago that working with kids in general – I’ve done sports camps, summer camps, teaching and coaching – I’ve always valued that the kids don’t care what you know until they know that you care,” Coronado said. ‘For me, I’ve always tried to get those relationships going and making sure the kids know I care.”
Coronado observed Koval’s business-like approach and the educator used that as his own personal learning experience. Some coaches ask too much discipline of their players, while the kids simply want to go out and have fun.
“The key is having that balance and I think that’s why we made this run because I think we have the right balance of discipline and fun,” he said.
How is Coronado able to juggle coaching the team and also teaching a class of 29?
“It’s organization,” he explained. “For me, I’m always looking for that balance. I want them to have fun, but at the same time, we have to get things done. Like right now, we’re trying to throw a little wrinkle into what we normally do (on the court). So if we need it, I think these guys are at the point now where they’re having fun and they’re still hearing me in the back of their heads.
“With fifth graders, it’s like that all the time. I step off the gas for one second and it’s a madhouse.”
After Bishop’s 59-50 semifinal victory over Vistamar, it was difficult to decipher the comments made by the fourth-year coach because his voice was left hoarse and raspy. The evening prior he was coaching a game with the local Boys and Girls Club. Although he had an assistant, Coronado said he resorted to what he knows best.
“I tried to sit down and be quiet, but I’m a coach,” he said with a smile.
The 2019 campaign was a tough one for Coronado and the Cardinals. After going 7-17 and missing out on the playoffs, Coronado took it upon himself to learn more about his young group. Bishop had four freshmen and four sophomores log significant minutes a season ago, which is now paying dividends.
“Everything I said didn’t make sense (to them), because even if they did what I asked, we’d still lose by 40,” he said. “This year, it’s all started to make sense. They started to trust me and I started to trust them. That’s been the greatest thing, because now I consider them friends.
“Obviously I’m their coach, but there’s a friendship and a trust factor.”
Several Bishop players frequently refer to the 2020 group as a family. The boys have relished the opportunity to not just play alongside one another, but to play for each other. Coronado said he challenged his players early on in the year, asking them how good they really wanted to be.
“Early in the season… It was looking bleak,” he said. “I knew we were going to pull through.”
Much like his students leave him scratching his head, the miraculous turnaround for the 2020 Cardinals has given Coronado quite a bit to think about.
“I’m still trying to figure it out,” he said. “All I keep saying is that they’re too young to know better.”
email: mwhite@newspress.co
