Jason Harper, Director, Rancho Cordova Athletic Association

A few weeks ago, about 50 Cordova High School athletes walked into the Rancho Cordova Sports Hall of Fame celebration. They’re accustomed to walking into gyms, stadiums and fields where people are there to watch them. This night was different.

Before the doors opened, we pulled the Lancers together for a pregame huddle. We told them about the legends who, in just a few moments, would be walking through those doors and standing in their presence. These were men and women who had worn their colors, played on their fields, walked the same hallways and helped write the athletic history they had inherited.

Then we gave them a simple instruction: “Tonight, you are not the star.”

We talked about humility and honor. We told them that when they met these legends, look them in their eyes.  Not down. Not away. Eye contact is a sign of respect. Then we modeled a handshake. Firm. Hand to hand.  Eye contact. Be present.

And then came the part that mattered most. “Guys and gals, when you shake, you thank.”
We called it the Shake and Thank. Shake their hand. Look them in the eye. And authentically thank them. Not because somebody told you to say it. Not because you’re working on an event. Thank them because the opportunity you have to wear CORDOVA across your chest exists, in part, because generations of people wore it before you.

Then the doors opened. These young athletes began meeting men and women who had worn the same colors before they were born. They escorted guests, opened doors, helped people find their seats and listened to stories from another generation of Rancho Cordova athletes.

The jerseys were different.  The hairstyles were different.  But the connection was unmistakable.

And standing quietly in their shadows was Cordova High School’s new Athletic Director, Michael Lorente.

He watched.
He watched young athletes serve instead of being served.
He watched generations of Cordova athletics meet one another with respect.
He watched the very culture that had been such a significant draw in solidifying his desire to come to Cordova now playing out right in front of him.

No PowerPoint. No recruiting pitch. No slogan on a wall.

Just culture in action.

At some point during the evening, I found myself watching our young athletes standing alongside the people whose pictures and names belong to Rancho Cordova’s history. For just a moment, you could see the entire purpose of what we’re trying to build in one room.

The past was standing next to the future. There is a difference between being busy and building something that matters. Around here, we’re working to do both.

Busy watching kids step onto fields for the first time.
Busy watching coaches give away evenings and weekends because somebody once did the same thing for them.
Busy building new opportunities. Busy connecting youth sports to our schools.
Busy celebrating the people who built Rancho Cordova athletics before many of our current athletes were even born.

And somewhere along the way, something became increasingly clear: We aren’t just running sports programs anymore.
We are building an athletic community.

A five-year-old who puts on a jersey for the first time probably isn’t thinking about Cordova High School. And the former athlete sitting at the Hall of Fame probably isn’t thinking about that first practice 40 years ago.

But we are. Because they’re connected.

The kid learning how to dribble today may someday play varsity basketball. The Little Leaguer digging into the batter’s box may someday wear a Cordova jersey. The high-school athlete serving our community today may someday become the coach standing beside another eight-year-old. And eventually, some of them become the names and stories we celebrate in the Rancho Cordova Sports Hall of Fame.

That’s the pipeline.

Five years old to seventy-five and beyond.

Wins matter. Championships matter. Competition matters.

We should teach kids to compete, improve and pursue excellence. But if the only thing youth sports produces are better athletes, we aimed too low.  

We want better teammates. Better students. Better leaders. Better neighbors. Better adults.

That means creating opportunities for more kids to play, helping families who need assistance, supporting coaches, improving facilities, strengthening the connection between youth and high-school athletics, and making sure the history of Rancho Cordova sports isn’t lost. It means building something that lasts longer than a season. There will always be another registration, another practice, another game and another season. But occasionally, it’s worth looking up from the schedule and recognizing what is happening.

Across Rancho Cordova, thousands of kids are learning how to belong to something bigger than themselves. Hundreds of adults are giving their time to make that possible. And generations of Rancho Cordova athletes are becoming connected in ways they haven’t been before.

And maybe that’s why that Hall of Fame night stuck with me.

We told 50 young athletes: “Tonight, you are not the star.”

We taught them the ‘Shake and Thank.’  But watching them serve the people who came before them reminded me of something. Someday, they might be. And when that day comes, I hope another kid is standing at the door, shaking their hand, looking them in the eye and saying: “Thank you for what you did for Rancho Cordova.”

That’s bigger than a scoreboard. That’s community.

We’re not finished.  Not even close. We’ve just been busy.

And there is a lot more coming. Let it be said of us Cordovans: No one will outwork us.
Because in Rancho Cordova, it’s effort over outcome.

Honored to be your city-wide Athletic Director.

NEXT WEEK IN THE WEEKLY WHISTLE

“LORENTE: THE NEW AD.”

Who is Michael Lorente?
Next week, we introduce Cordova High School’s new Athletic Director, not with a biography, but with a conversation. Why Cordova? What did he see here that made him want the job? What does he believe high-school athletics should produce beyond wins and losses? What does he want a freshman athlete to experience when they first put on a Lancer uniform? And what does he need from coaches, parents, youth programs and the Rancho Cordova community to build what comes next? And we’ll take him back one night…

“You stood in the background and watched nearly 50 Lancers serve the generations who came before them. What did you see?”

Next week:
LORENTE: THE NEW AD.
The person. The position.  And his vision for what comes next at Cordova.