"Coach… I'M IN."
The texted response was even better than Chico State Men's Track and Field Head Coach Oliver Hanf had hoped for. He made a big ask of Damon Uribe: to prepare and provide a PowerPoint presentation that Hanf hoped would help set the direction or the entire program for the rest of the year.
The true freshman Damon Uribe. From tiny University Prep in Redding, Damon Uribe. The Damon Uribe whose only interaction with his 50-plus new college teammates since his recruiting visit has come through zoom.
"I was taking a risk asking," admits Hanf. "I figured the worst that could happen is he agrees to do it and he struggles and I have to sort of jump in and rescue it. But when I got his text back, I was stoked. I had a feeling we were in for something special."
The risk made sense. Hanf wanted Uribe to talk to the team about the concept of Ubuntu, which according to them both, includes the belief that a team is only as strong as each member. So, Hanf would rely in his true freshman sprinter to set the tone.
Uribe did not, in fact, struggle. It was a huge success.
"He knocked it out of the park," Hanf said.
"It was great," said senior Nick Valdez. "It takes a lot of courage for a freshman who has only met us through zoom to do that. To do it with the strength and emotion the he portrayed through zoom is really powerful. It has made a difference for us for sure."
Hanf's idea to bring Ubuntu philosophy to his program came after watching Netflix's sports docuseries The Playbook. In the first episode, NBA Coach Doc Rivers tells the story about how Ubuntu helped the Boston Celtics win the 2008 NBA Championship.
Off the cuff, Uribe describes Ubuntu this way: "It's about the way people interact with each other. It isn't really a word. It's a way of life. It was important for us as athletes to understand the word and become it, which is what I tried to do. People rely on each other and can count on one another. That's what it really means to me."
The message Valdez took from it is this: "We may be hundreds of miles from each other but we still share the fact that we are a team. I don't know some of the guys as well as I'd like to but I support them either way. It challenged me to figure out how what part I can play to make us more of a team despite the distance. That was really important for me."
According to the Oxford English Dictionary, ubuntu is a South African noun meaning: A quality that includes the essential human virtues; compassion and humanity.
Hanf didn't just pull Uribe's name out of a hat when choosing him to deliver the message. From the first time Hanf laid eyes on Uribe, he saw a spark of courage in the young man.
"It was the Northern Section Championships at West Valley High School and he came around the turn in the 200 meters and went neck and neck with the favorite all the way to the finish line and I said to myself: 'that's my guy!'," Hanf remembers. "He was the first recruit we had on campus that fall."
Uribe won the 2018 Northern Athletic League and Northern Section Division II titles in the 100 and 200-meter sprints and the 4x100 and 4x400 relays. He was unable to defend those titles as a senior, however, due to COVID-19.
So far, Uribe's first competitive collegiate campaign has fallen victim to the same virus. Fortunately, Hanf has remained committed to delivering a transformative student experience. His team has spent time discussing things like social justice, the University's COVID Commitments, leadership, and more.
After watching the documentary, Hanf decided it was time to make sure his team was ready to hit the ground running once cleared to get back on the track. He texted Uribe. Despite his youth, Uribe knew he wanted to do it as soon as he watched the documentary.
"It goes back to where I came from. I come out of a football program at University Prep where the football coaches changed the whole athletic dynamic at our school," said Uribe. "What Oliver shared with me are some things that I am passionate about and played a role in bringing to our high school football team. It felt like a perfect fit for me to do the same here. I was happy to do it."
Ironically, what started out as a project focused on his teammates, became a powerful reminder for Uribe.
"It's been huge for me. It gave me an opportunity to reflect on my junior year, which I began with huge expectations for myself," Uribe said. "When the season came around I fell short in the beginning. I lost to competitors I shouldn't have, and at one point, I felt myself given up during a race. From that moment on, I decided that wasn't going to be the performance that defined me. I went home that evening, cut down my tire swing, and tied it around my waist. I pulled it every day after practice. That year I focused on learning from my mistakes. That helped me put up some quality performances and times and got me to Chico State.
"My time with Chico State has been a similar scenario. There's so much downtime. You really have to decide to push forward to get better. Even when you don't feel like it or don't want to."
Uribe says he and his teammates have done a better job encouraging each other and checking in lately.
"We've definitely become more of a family," said Uribe. "People are reaching out more, talking and communicating and getting to know each other."
Valdez believes the team's culture and Uribe's presentation have played a key role in that.
"We're pretty blessed with the team we have," said Valdez. "Coach Oliver's energy and persona has seeped into all of us. We all have close-knit relationships, but this situation has made it harder for the freshmen and transfers to break out of their shell. I think Damon's presentation helped a lot. It showed them that they can be comfortable breaking into conversations and sharing their perspective. They jumped into the energy that Oliver brings to the table and we all ate it up."
For his part, Uribe wants to make sure the program's winning tradition is carried forward.
"The track and field program at Chico State is a well-recognized, championship program and it's what brought me to Chico," said Uribe. "But we aren't the same team as before. It's up to us now to make sure we re-instill that championship mindset. We don't get to win them just because we've won them in the past. I wanted to make sure I helped bring that perspective to the team.
"A major thing that Ubuntu brings is the idea of bringing out the best in each other. Coach Oliver helped bring out the best in me and I hopefully helped bring out the best in my teammates."
