Gym Floor Undergoes Renovations
Main gym basketball court named after longtime Coach Joe Berticevich.
By Gabi Vasquez
Main gym basketball court named after longtime Coach Joe Berticevich.
By Gabi Vasquez
During and just after the semester break, the floor of the main gym underwent re-polishing to restore the worn out surface. During this process, the basketball court section of the gym floor was dedicated to Pioneer’s athletic director and varsity basketball coach Joe Berticevich, who has been athletic director for over 12 years.
Although the gym floor goes through polishing roughly every 10 years, it has never been dedicated to someone before. The lifelong basketball devotee was recently honored in a small ceremony held in the gym on Wednesday, January 12, 2022 for the time he devoted to coaching students and building relationships with his teams.
“To my knowledge, (the court) hasn’t been dedicated to anyone before,” said Principal Herbert Espiritu. Espiritu says Berticevich was honored “for his 25 years of service as the varsity basketball coach at Pioneer.”
After 25 years, Berticevich is still enthusiastic about the sport and everything he does for the teams. His commitment to working with student athletes everyday has paid off in the form of his relationships as well as the overall accomplishments and success seen on the court, such as coaching the boys varsity team during the championship preseason tournament.
“I love the team aspect of coaching,” said Berticevich. “The longevity, being able to build lifelong relationships with athletes and coaches.”
Berticevich’s interest in basketball began long before he started coaching, he played high school basketball as a teenager and was inspired to start coaching later on.
“When my days were over on the court, I wanted to give back to my community,” said Berticevich.
Berticevich’s efforts haven’t gone unrecognized, varsity basketball team captain Sean Crowley, 12, appreciates his coaches work on and off the court.
“I’m really happy with the coach, I like him at Pioneer and he’s honestly one of the main reasons I came to this school in the first place. I’m just lucky to have someone that cares so much about winning,” said Crowley. “I feel like his strength is adjusting during the game to how the other team is playing.”
Another varsity team captain, Jeff Stepan, 12, expresses a similar appreciation for his coach’s hard work.
“I think he’s a great guy. I’ve been on varsity for three years, and he’s taught me a lot. He’s taught me to be aggressive, hustle and I’ve grown to love the game because of him,” said Stepan. “Coach B has really taught us all how to play hard and have the desire to win because if we don’t have that desire to win and the desire to be better than your opponent, then we can’t really do well and we can’t thrive.”
Berticevich contributes to the team more off the court as well. He provides feedback and alternative methods of teaching basketball by analyzing film with his team and including new strategies into play.
“We watch a lot of film of ourselves but also of college teams and so he’s taught us a lot of different plays and different parts of the game,” said Stepan. “When we watch college teams and the way they play we incorporate that into our style of play. I think he’s taught us a lot about running the floor and just different ways to play.”
Overall, Berticevich’s hard work and enthusiasm towards basketball has led him to much appreciation from students and general success throughout the season. The intensity and consistency of his coaching throughout the years has set him and his team for a promising rest of the season.
“I’m looking forward to the end of our season, trying to win league and then after that playing hard in CCS and trying to win that too,” said Crowley. “He expects so much out of us and that’s why we deliver.”
Although the gym floor goes through polishing roughly every 10 years, it has never been dedicated to someone before. The lifelong basketball devotee was recently honored in a small ceremony held in the gym on Wednesday, January 12, 2022 for the time he devoted to coaching students and building relationships with his teams.
“To my knowledge, (the court) hasn’t been dedicated to anyone before,” said Principal Herbert Espiritu. Espiritu says Berticevich was honored “for his 25 years of service as the varsity basketball coach at Pioneer.”
After 25 years, Berticevich is still enthusiastic about the sport and everything he does for the teams. His commitment to working with student athletes everyday has paid off in the form of his relationships as well as the overall accomplishments and success seen on the court, such as coaching the boys varsity team during the championship preseason tournament.
“I love the team aspect of coaching,” said Berticevich. “The longevity, being able to build lifelong relationships with athletes and coaches.”
Berticevich’s interest in basketball began long before he started coaching, he played high school basketball as a teenager and was inspired to start coaching later on.
“When my days were over on the court, I wanted to give back to my community,” said Berticevich.
Berticevich’s efforts haven’t gone unrecognized, varsity basketball team captain Sean Crowley, 12, appreciates his coaches work on and off the court.
“I’m really happy with the coach, I like him at Pioneer and he’s honestly one of the main reasons I came to this school in the first place. I’m just lucky to have someone that cares so much about winning,” said Crowley. “I feel like his strength is adjusting during the game to how the other team is playing.”
Another varsity team captain, Jeff Stepan, 12, expresses a similar appreciation for his coach’s hard work.
“I think he’s a great guy. I’ve been on varsity for three years, and he’s taught me a lot. He’s taught me to be aggressive, hustle and I’ve grown to love the game because of him,” said Stepan. “Coach B has really taught us all how to play hard and have the desire to win because if we don’t have that desire to win and the desire to be better than your opponent, then we can’t really do well and we can’t thrive.”
Berticevich contributes to the team more off the court as well. He provides feedback and alternative methods of teaching basketball by analyzing film with his team and including new strategies into play.
“We watch a lot of film of ourselves but also of college teams and so he’s taught us a lot of different plays and different parts of the game,” said Stepan. “When we watch college teams and the way they play we incorporate that into our style of play. I think he’s taught us a lot about running the floor and just different ways to play.”
Overall, Berticevich’s hard work and enthusiasm towards basketball has led him to much appreciation from students and general success throughout the season. The intensity and consistency of his coaching throughout the years has set him and his team for a promising rest of the season.
“I’m looking forward to the end of our season, trying to win league and then after that playing hard in CCS and trying to win that too,” said Crowley. “He expects so much out of us and that’s why we deliver.”