PRIDE: BANQUET
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2005 Banquet Introduction
Welcome to the 20th annual Southwest Detroit Cross-country Awards and Recognition Banquet. This marks the 1st year of cross-country running at Chavez High School and Middle School and our very first CC banquet at Chavez.
There’s an old saying that every goodbye eventually leads to a new hello and that is what happened when 120+ year old Holy Redeemer High School closed its doors in June of 2005 after a legacy of service to the youth of Southwest Detroit. Coaches Pat Irwin, Erin Irwin, Ron Maynor, Doug Bajor and Margaret Garry had been volunteer coaching cross-country at Redeemer for 19 years. Shortly after the announcement of Redeemer’s closure was made, CCA High School Principal Chris Silva and Leona Group School Management Vice-president Steve Bollier extended an invitation for the coaching staff to move the cross-country program to Chavez – and we did.
Out of 10 Redeemer student runners – 3 decided to enroll in Chavez: Seniors Dave Dominguez, Willie Rodriguez and Sophomore Eddie Baldwin. These 3 were joined by almost 36 other boys and girls who were already attending CCA in the fall of 2005 to try this new and exciting sport. The combination of the best of Chavez and best of Redeemer made for an exciting 1st season of cross-country at CCA HS. Cross-country is a tough sport though and by the end of the season only a tough group of 10 boys were left from the original 36 athletes – and 2 of those were from the middle school!
As a first year sport, we faced more than our share of ups and downs. Building a brand new sport in a school where sports are only beginning has been a difficult challenge. This is the challenge that all of the sports at Chavez are now facing. Boys Soccer – which only began last year- has already won a public school league championship and the wrestling team – for which many of our runners will participate in, is beginning their first inaugural season at Chavez as well. Given time – all of the sports at Chavez will do extremely well because we know that Chavez students can and will achieve when provided the right opportunities to do so.
Look for our team to continue to grow and to excel next year. Now that we have established what the sport is and how you practice and win – we look to grow our team larger next year. We expect that many athletes who came out this year will come back – but with an understanding of what it takes to win and to stay on the team. As our team creed on the cover of the program states (in summary) “Whether you are a gazelle or a lion – when the sun comes up you better be running”. At Chavez – this cross-country team runs and no one – and we mean no one can catch us – once we’ve had the right training, discipline and mind set!
Special gratitude to the “all-volunteer” coaching staff who put in so many hours and so much dedication this year. Also special appreciation to the CCA administration and faculty who have supported our efforts throughout the year.
Sincerely,
The Cesar Chavez Cross-country Coaching Staff
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