{"id":225113,"date":"2018-05-25T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2018-05-25T07:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sdnews.com\/a-special-dad-figure\/"},"modified":"2018-05-25T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2018-05-25T07:00:00","slug":"a-special-dad-figure","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/a-special-dad-figure\/","title":{"rendered":"A special \u2018dad figure\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Genevieve Suzuki | Gen-X in a Millennial World<\/p>\n

Dads come in all shapes, sizes and interests.<\/p>\n

To borrow from someone else, while everyone has a father, not everyone has a dad. Thankfully, a dad can be biological or adoptive.<\/p>\n

And then there\u2019s the dad figure. This guy walks and talks like a dad without the typical familial connection. He\u2019s there when a kid succeeds, fails or just needs guidance.<\/p>\n

Take Joaquin Heurtero, the director of coaching of Sporting San Diego, a soccer organization that aims to foster and develop the physical, mental, and emotional growth of local youth.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/a>
Joaquin Heurtero (Foto cortes\u00eda)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Huertero, 38, has been coaching soccer since he was 19. Sitting down with him for breakfast at Sheldon\u2019s Service Station, it\u2019s easy to see he truly believes he can make a difference in every kid\u2019s life.<\/p>\n

Before taking on kids, however, you have to start with you, said Huertero.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs a coach, you have to lead by example,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Huertero does exactly that.<\/p>\n

I first met Huertero when he joined the board of the La Mesa Park & Recreation Foundation. He said he felt it was a natural partnership, given the connection that parks have with athletes. Although his commitment to our community parks is admirable, what\u2019s especially impressive is the effect he has on his players\u2019 lives.<\/p>\n

Attendees at last month\u2019s La Mesa Rocks fundraiser for the parks saw firsthand what a difference a coach makes. Several of Huertero\u2019s soccer players volunteered to serve and bus tables that night. The kids were polite and good-natured, a refreshing change from the stereotypical surly teen huddled in the corner with an electronic device.<\/p>\n

When I complimented the kids, Huertero took it in stride. He doesn\u2019t expect anything less.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe teach them three things: They have to show up on time, work hard, and get along with others. They need to take this and apply it in the real world,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Huertero\u2019s philosophy is reflected in his Sporting San Diego staff, who aim to focus on the \u201cperson\u201d as much as the \u201cplayer.\u201d The organization\u2019s mission vows a commitment to not only improve the technical and tactical side of the game for each player, but to also teach them lessons that go beyond the soccer field, enhance self-esteem, promote self-confidence and cultivate a lifelong passion for the game of soccer.<\/p>\n

Huertero, a Lemon Grove native, tries his best to be there for his students. One of the things he does is arrange a college camp for his players.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are so many kids who don\u2019t have the opportunity to be seen by college coaches,\u201d he said. \u201cThey can\u2019t afford to go to these [schools\u2019 camps].\u201d<\/p>\n

Schools that have participated in Sporting San Diego\u2019s camp include San Diego State University, University of California San Diego, California State University Dominguez Hills, and Point Loma Nazarene.<\/p>\n

Huertero\u2019s devotion to his kids is repaid in spades. One-third of Sporting San Diego\u2019s coaches went through his program when they were students.<\/p>\n

\u201cCoaches don\u2019t realize how much of an impact they can make,\u201d said Huertero, who is also the head coach for boys soccer at his alma mater, Helix Charter High School. \u201cYou\u2019re talking about hundreds and hundreds of kids.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd every single person has a story,\u201d he said of his athletes. \u201cThat\u2019s why I love what I do.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2014 Genevieve A. Suzuki es una abogada local que vive y trabaja en La Mesa.<\/em><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Genevieve Suzuki | Gen-X in a Millennial World Dads come in all shapes, sizes and interests.<\/p>","protected":false},"author":729,"featured_media":223981,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"11548","_seopress_titles_title":"A special \u2018dad figure\u2019","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"jnews_override_counter":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[11547,11548],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-225113","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-features","category-la-mesa-courier"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/225113","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/729"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=225113"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/225113\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/223981"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=225113"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=225113"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=225113"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}