As the school year comes to an end, senior athletes may encounter the end of their athletic career. Following the senior ceremony of their last home game, could it be their last ever time playing their sport?
Fortunately, not all good things must come to an end. Aragon’s 1984 Athlete of the Year, Steve Sell, who played football, basketball and baseball, found a way to continue his passion for sports despite detours in the road along the way.
After Aragon, Sell studied at Saint Mary’s College.
“I majored in business and administration, so I can go in and work in sales — that’s what my dad did — and I liked a lot of the economics and business policies,” Sell said. “Right out of college, I was working as a salesman, and I was working at a textile company.”
Fortunately, Sell’s life lead him in a different direction, and he was able to find a career path he was passionate about. Sell said he realized what he truly wanted to do when he was 22 years old.
“I was on the sidelines [of a De La Salle versus Saint Francis football game]. My girlfriend at that time was a sports writer [for the Contra Costa Sun Times], and we were on the sidelines of a high school football game, and when I was on the sidelines watching the game, it hit me,” Sell said. “You know how people, sometimes they get a calling? Right at that second, I knew what I wanted to do.”
“Most of the people I talk to on a daily basis love sports and love kids, so we have a lot in common“
Soon after, Sell’s mind was set.
“I knew that I wanted to go back, [and] I wanted to teach history and coach football. I never intended to be an athletic director. I did intend to teach PE. I wanted to be a history teacher and coach, but then, you know, things change,” Sell said. “The job openings at that time were in PE and not social studies, and then some athletic director jobs opened at another school.”
In order to pursue his new career, Sell returned to college.
“I got my teacher credential at the College of Notre Dame, and I went back and got my masters in athletic administration at Saint Mary’s College,” Sell said.
Sell expresses gratitude and satisfaction with where this choice has led him. He currently serves as athletic director, a coach and a PE teacher, in addition to his position as vice president of the Central Coast Section.
“I’ve taken a lot of leadership positions within this section. I get to deal with stuff that impacts the entire section bylaws, policies that run the entire section,” Sell said. “Going back to my interest in history and social studies, I feel like I get to use some of those [skills] instead of just teaching PE [and] just coaching all the time.”
Sell said the most important part of his job is working with students.
“I find [the] most rewarding [part] is seeing kids develop and improve and experience joy,” Sell said. “How often a kid will come into school, to Aragon, maybe not knowing people, kind of being shy, not knowing what they want to do, and someone encourages them to try cross country, try wrestling, try football, and all of a sudden this kid becomes a different person because they are experiencing success, and it truly alters the path of their life. It’s satisfying to know you played a little part in it.”
“I find [the] most rewarding [part] is seeing kids develop and improve”
Aside from spending time with students, Sell enjoys being surrounded by a community of people who he feels understand each other.
“When you’re an athletic director, you deal with coaches, and you deal with other people who love sports too,” Sell said. “Most of the people I talk to on a daily basis love sports and love kids, so we have a lot in common.”
In addition to his impressive athletic achievements,during his time at Aragon, Sell was also involved in other extracurriculars, including the school newspaper, then known as the Aristocrat, where he served as sports editor.
“I loved it. I had a horrible, horrible verbal score on the SAT because I never read anything except the sports pages. But because I looked at sport pages all my life, from a young kid, I knew how to lay out a newspaper, I knew what good sports writing was, I knew what bad sports writing was, [and] I knew how to write good headlines,” Sell said. “That, aside from sports, was the best part of my high school experience.”
