We’ve never presented The Teamwork Award before, but there’s never been a year like the 2020-21 school year before, either. Because of the compressed nature of the sports schedule, which saw every sport (except girls’ volleyball) compete in the span of just a few months, maximum flexibility was required.
The most flexible of all was Cabrillo High and its coaches and administrators. Cabrillo ended up serving as the home field for Long Beach Poly’s football team, the site of the Moore League cross country finals for the first time ever, as well as the host of every single water polo and swim meet that happened in the league this year.
A lot of the work of playing host to so much of the city’s high school sports this year came from volunteers on campus, including Cabrillo aquatic coaches Lawrence Durand and Emily View, whose pool was in constant use during swim season from dawn until sunset. Several coaches in the different sports that visited Cabrillo commented on how selfless the school’s staff was in making sure that kids from all over the city were able to compete.
In a competitive sports league, especially one that’s contained almost entirely within one school district the way the Long Beach Unified School District is with the Moore League, things aren’t always friendly. There’s competitive rivalry, but also personal emotions that come into play and sometimes stop cooperative ventures that would benefit kids. That didn’t happen this year, and the selflessness of the coaches and staff at Cabrillo are a big part of why–they deserve respect, admiration, and gratitude from the entire city.
