“Jesus Ramos: Coach of the Year at Augusta Christian”
“As a player, as a coach, I am a student of the game.”
-Jesus Ramos
It was over eleven years ago. I was sitting in the stands of Thomson’s local football stadium. I was invited by Jesus himself to watch him play soccer for the first time as a high school student. The air was chilling, biting at my skin as I shivered in spurts, closing in on myself to warm up. Antoinette, his girlfriend at the time and now wife of two years, was sitting a few feet away from me with a blanket, barely getting warm herself. We watched Jesus and the Thomson Bulldog soccer team proceed to the field. They started participating in standard drills, kicking the ball back and forth in circles and trotting along the grass. All players had taken off their warmups, exposing their jerseys, shorts, protective padding covered in socks and cleats, except Jesus. He was still clothed from neck to ankles, building intensity as he practiced with a sense of organic rhythm between him and the ball.
During the game, the Bulldogs had received possession where Jesus had an opportunity to score. He dribbled left and right, causing defenders to lose footing and balance, falling to the sides like unorganized troops on a battlefield. He approached the goalie and his boxed-domain, taking a bullet-kick towards the net only to hit the side of the goal post. You could hear the sighs of the crowd as he jogged back on defense. Jesus dropped his head with disappointment, but not with discouragement, for he knew he would get another chance to redeem himself. It was then that I knew that this was the markings of a good player that loved the game.
So how cool is this guy! He has made the Dean’s List consecutively at Georgia Regents University as a Psychology major, he quotes Kobe Bryant, he writes poetry, admires Cornel West, an American philosopher, his name is Jesus, and he happens to be one of my best friends for over fifteen years. He graduated from Thomson High School after moving from his home town of Chihuahua, Mexico with his mother and younger brother. I interviewed Jesus Ramos at the Cookout on Belair Road, surrounded by hungry customers and employees calling out orders containing some of the tastiest burgers I’ve had in a long time
Jesus was just arriving from practice before we sat down and started chatting. I asked him about his primary objectives upon initially coaching at Augusta Christian. Jesus stated that as a school, “we wanted to change the culture at Augusta Christian about soccer and the way it was perceived.” Soccer, in comparison to other sports at the school, wasn’t receiving that much recognition because the teams weren’t that strong. Jesus wanted to assist Augusta Christian with strengthening the program and helping the student athletes acquire productive experiences. Jesus stated that he also wanted to increase the commitment level for female athletes. This past year was the first time in three seasons Jesus has coached both the boys and girls. Jesus has been solely coaching the girls for the previous two seasons before gaining instructional responsibility for the boys as well. Jesus has received good support from both the athletic director and assistant directors as far as proceeding in the direction they saw fit to improve the success of the soccer athletes. Jesus stated that the main differences between coaching the boys and girls is “the level of intensity and physicality and speed of play.” Jesus has come to terms that he must be both nurturing and direct when coaching such young teams. He stated that one must “see a mirror image of yourself” in order to understand the behavior of the players on and off the field.
His biggest challenge as a coach and human being was accepting the reality of things that he cannot control. Jesus stated that you can’t control the situations surrounding you, but “you can control your responses to the uncontrollable.” He was referencing his desire to exercise his coaching preferences in order to improve the conditions of his teams. Jesus confirmed that unfortunately, “in a season, you only have so much time to implement your philosophy.” Jesus’ philosophy pertaining to coaching his girls and boys consist of becoming developmental, which includes passing the ball, maintaining possession, and having a strong defense.
Jesus stated that he wanted to “get away from solely scoring.” He then referenced Gregg Popovich, who is the current coach of the NBA’s San Antonio Spurs, in relation to his coaching technique. Jesus and I have personally been fans of the Lakers since Kobe made his debut back in the late 90s. Jesus mentioned that though the Spurs aren’t a flashy team, they have the fundamental elements to win games, utilizing all their players to preserve the legs of both older and younger athletes. I asked Jesus if his playing formula was succeeding, by which he answered, “Finding a medium helps us understand that the game itself is forever changing.” He wants to make sure that his players are transferring what’s learned in practice to live games where their skills are tested.
Though Jesus’ boy soccer team ended the season 2-10, he was complimented for his influence towards improving the skill level of his players. The coach of the team that won the boys championship in their division applauded Jesus on his coaching, informing him “whatever work you’re doing with these boys are great.” This accolade proved Jesus’ theory that playing better is just as much of a reward as winning the game. Jesus states that he would be pleased with both outcomes, but as a passionate individual, he is more concerned with the progress of his players.
Overall, Jesus values development and having fun. Jesus isn’t a fan of walking away from a day’s worth of practice, saying to himself “this isn’t fun for me.” Jesus states there were moments when practice was tactfully good, but the level of fun was low enough to cause both him and his players to complain. He assured me “one thing that bothers me as a coach is losing players” by possibly causing a disinterest to the sport of soccer. He still exercises the intensive drive that he possessed as a young player, but he also understands the entertaining element that allows himself as well as his teams to find enjoyment in becoming better on the field. He comes to the conclusion that “I have to find pleasure in the non-pleasurable things that are going to give me the things I find pleasure in.” As a student, like most, Jesus doesn’t find excitement in reading extensive concepts in book-length subjects and spending hours on homework, but he understands that the rewards of obtaining greater knowledge and getting good grades are worth the work.
Jesus ended the interview by stating “I not only want to be a better coach, I want to be a better man”, including husband, brother, role model, son, and friend. His personal advice to players and coaches is to “just be patient and keep trying”, to “be careful” with your decisions by always having a plan B, “try new things” and always be willing to further “educate yourself” in all aspects of life. Jesus states that as an athlete, what one does outside of the sport constitutes what’s done as an athlete. Jesus takes pride in being presentable, whether it’s through social media or personal encounters, and maintaining a healthy reputation.
Jesus and his wife, Antoinette Ramos, are expecting twins this coming fall. Jesus stated “I have the rest of my life to become a good coach”, but he feels that he doesn’t have forever to be a great parent. He wishes to spend as much time with them as he possibly can, despite his busy schedule. Jesus expressed that he’s both fearful and excited about being a first-time parent, but more thrilled overall. Antoinette stated that “Jesus is very passionate about coaching” and that she’s “very proud of his accomplishments and proud to call him my husband.” As a coach, Jesus strives to supply his players with whatever he lacked as a young athlete to help them become better overall as individuals.
-City Rag (2015)
