Our goal is to raise 15 thousand dollars, so we can get the guys travel sweats, shoes, t-shirts, and money to feed them on the road.
Subscribe to follow campaign updates!
Here is a message from the Head Coach:
I want to share with you what San Diego City College Men’s Basketball is all about:
This is my 10th year coaching basketball at San Diego City College. Since I took over the program we have won more games than any other program in our conference, which is all of San Diego and Imperial Counties. We have won more conference championships than any other school, (3) in our conference. We have had more athletes receive All Conference Selections. I have been selected as the Conference Coach of the Year 3 times, and the State of California Coach of the Year in 2009. We have had 4 All-State Players, and Malcolm Thomas was the Player of the Year in the State in 2009. We are the only team from our conference to reach the California Community College Elite Eight in over 30 years. To get an understanding of these accomplishments let me tell you that there are over 100 Community Colleges in California.
Most impressive though, is that we transfer more of our athletes to Universities than any other program in our conference.
If you look even deeper into our task it is incredible! San Diego City College has the most challenging demographic of students. 90% of our athletes are first generation college students from single parent homes. 95% of our athletes receive financial aid because they come from low income families. We have turned around lives! We have turned former felons into Honor Roll Student’s; High School dropouts into University Graduates; Boys into men. This is not meant as a self promotion speech. I want you to know that I am asking you to get behind something that is real, something that is working. Something you can be proud of.
With the crisis in our economy and the massive budget cuts to education, the easiest target for cuts is Athletics. Most politicians don’t see the importance of athletics on our makeup as becoming good people. They didn’t experience the sacrifice, the competition, the hard work, the being part of a team… They think it is just a game, not something that has built us into the men we are today. I have a Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology and a Masters Degree in Exercise Science. So I am a walking endorsement of the importance of education. But, I was taught to have drive and work toward something every day because of my love for basketball. My love of education grew thru basketball.
We won conference the last time in 2012. We want the championship back! I am so excited to see our guys compete! They battle each other every day hard! Yesterday in a block out drill, we had guys diving into the wall, flipping, and flying into each other in pursuit of the ball. While I didn’t want anyone to get hurt, they have to practice that level of competing. We can’t ask them to play hard in games if we don’t show them what that looks like. Bodies were flying! It looked like a Professional Wrestling Match meets a fumble on an NFL kickoff return. Yet, in between each play, they were making sure their teammates weren’t hurt. I got chills watching them. Our culture is being instilled. These kids are getting it. They compete in everything yet, they are there for each other
Our guys work hard! They go to class, lift weights, compete hard on the floor, and have to listen to me every day!!!!!! Then, most of them go home to cramped living quarters with not enough money to eat well. I wish I could afford to feed them every day. Our budget doesn’t cover travel gear, uniforms, or shoes. We get just enough money to pay for the officials and gas money.
Our men experience a great deal more than basketball. Last May we took our team to a Group Home-Program run through the Jamacha Elementary School. We spent the afternoon with these amazing foster children who have persevered through neglect, abuse, drug inflicted environments, and you name it. I was extremely proud of my team as they spoke to these children so passionately about the importance of “self worth” and staying in school. The Knights shared their own experiences of adversity with the kids and made individual connections. Then we took them all out onto the fields and basketball courts and ran a mini-clinic. It felt better than winning the championship. We ended up giving them t-shirts, jerseys, and even basketballs. My players and assistant coaches all reflected on how we had brightened those children’s days. I knew they had brightened ours.
With help, we can make these young studs feel like champs! Our goal is to raise 15 thousand dollars, so we can get the guys travel sweats, shoes, t-shirts, and money to feed them on the road. We travel to 4 away Tournaments this year and we don’t have enough money.
If you or your companies want to get behind these guys and donate, it is a complete tax deduction as we are a 501c-3 non-profit organization. If you know someone that wants some advertising out of it, we can place sponsorship advertising in our media guide, and/or banners in our gym. We have over 15 thousand students on our campus. If you have ideas of ways for us to raise money, I’m all ears.
Thanks so much,
Go Knights!!
Mitch Charlens
San Diego City College
Head Men's Basketball Coach
Professor – Kinesiology
619 388-3703 office
858 752-0966 mobile
Sign in with your Facebook account or email.