Walsh taking the fight to the state

“It’s not just about football. This is about three million kids on the bench,” Walsh said. “We want the kids to play. (We’re) having a meeting (with state officials) to drive home why kids should be playing.”

The meeting with key decision makers was one of the main goals Walsh had when he started this fight — and it is a fight. You can almost hear the exhaustion through the phone in talking with Walsh. The media crush has to be wearing — he made a pair of appearances on Fox News last week (“I’d love to be on CNN,” Walsh said). He’s being pulled in a million different directions right now. But this is the battle he chose and he’s not going to go quietly into the night.

“We’re not going away because the distress signals we’re seeing from our kids [are] so strong, this fight will not end,” Walsh said. “It can be alleviated by safely reintroducing sports into the community.”

Walsh is using the skills he learned and has applied as a football coach to tackle this latest challenge. That means preparing as best you can and when given the opportunity, applying what you prepared. Walsh said one of the main goals of the GSHSFCA was to get the data his group compiled into the hands of decision makers at the state level. The Thursday meeting with Ghaly accomplishes that goal. What Ghaly and state officials do with the information, Walsh can’t control. But he got it to them and that’s what matters.

“It’s like a football game,” Walsh said. “You go play a great St. Francis team, or a great Bellarmine team. There is always hope you win the game, but it’s also a fact you might not.

“But because you might lose doesn’t mean you don’t try.”

For Walsh, the work with the GSHSFCC has replaced his normal football routine. The time he would normally spend on the Serra football program is now being used to get the Serra football program — as well as Aragon basketball, Hillsdale soccer and Menlo School golf — back on the field, court or course.

“This is my football time,” Walsh said. “I haven’t been on campus to work out the kids in months, but I think they know what I’m trying to do.

“These kids need more.”

Bringing sports back is no longer about just playing again. Walsh said the big motivation now, nearly a year into the pandemic, is the mental well-being of the athletes — as well as their families and coaches and athletic administrators as well.

People seem to forget that coaches and administrators are human too and are just as affected as the athletes.

Walsh admitted he’s had his own mental challenges over the past year.

“I was in a dark spot in 2020, I ain’t gonna lie,” Walsh said. “I think God was forcing me into that dark pit to come out of it in 2021 and help as many people as possible.

“It’s worth the fight. I got into the business (of coaching youth sports) long ago … because I love kids. Youth sports are the only sector that hasn’t been opened since March (2020). I’m feeling what the kids are feeling. I know what would support my soul is getting back on the field coaching those kids again.”

So Walsh will continue to collect data, will continue to advocate for youth sports and will continue to tell anybody who will listen why sports are so important, especially for a developing child.

“I have two kids (of my own) who are struggling in their own right who don’t even play football. Humans are not meant for isolation forever,” Walsh said. “It’s time to put our kids first.”

Nathan Mollat can be reached by email at nathan@smdailyjounal.com or by phone: 650-344-5200 ext. 117.