By Aaron Allen, The Seattle Medium
The transition from Middle School to High School is not easy, and for student-athletes, it can put immense pressure on a young mind.
By student population, Rainier Beach High School is a small school in the Metro League. But historically, Rainier Beach has produced some of Washington State’s top student-athletes. So, what does that say about Rainier Beach and its community?
This year is no different when it comes to Rainier Beach football. Over the years, Coach Corey Sampson has built a contender. However, this year, Sampson is in an unfamiliar position of inheriting a very young team. Playing in the top division of the Metro League, his young squad has had to grow up quickly and adapt to varsity football on the fly.
“Right now, we are growing every day as a squad and individually,” says Sampson. “We are very, very young. We only have five seniors; we are heavily dominated by a sophomore and freshman class, some juniors, but mostly freshmen and sophomores.”
“We are playing in the top division, so every game is like we are playing against a playoff team,” adds Sampson. “Until we learn, get better, and grow with maturity, we are going to have to play our very best in order to be successful. But I am excited about the future of the program.”
With his team being so young, Sampson has entrusted part of the leadership of his program to two freshmen – quarterback James Siva (5’10”, 135 lbs.) and receiver/defensive back SirJewel Glover (6’1”, 180 lbs.). Although young in years, both players have grown throughout the season and stepped up to the challenge.
“We had two freshman quarterbacks going in [to the season],” says Sampson. “Siva began as the backup to Khiel Jackson, and we ended up deciding to go in a different direction at the quarterback position, and James Siva stepped in. He is doing okay; he’s been steady.”
“[Siva and Glover] are both fourteen years old, so they’re playing high school football before starting high school classes,” continued Sampson. “So, it’s a big jump from little league football straight to high school football.”
Youth and inexperience can always pose a challenge for coaches and players alike. Patience on the side of the coach is necessary to develop young players, and young players must learn to adapt to the differences in transitioning from youth sports to the big stage of high school athletics.
“Siva’s strengths are he throws a nice ball, and he is very, very tough,” says Sampson. “He is tough as nails. At about 130-135 pounds, he takes a beating; he gets up and keeps on going. He comes from a great athletic family and background. What he has to improve on is the speed of the game. He is trying to soak it all in but he has to learn to pick up the tempo and have more control of the offense. As a freshman, he has to be more assertive and take control of the offense and become more of a leader.”
According to Sampson, at nearly 6’2”, Glover is a big target and shows great potential at both the wide receiver and defensive back positions.
“He is a man amongst boys,” says Sampson. “He is a freak athlete. He has D1 potential on offense and defense as he is already getting looks from D1 programs.”
Despite his natural attributes, Glover is a student of the game, who strives to get better all the time.
“I am a hard worker and I give my all,” says Glover. “[I want to do] my best when I am on the field.”
Both Siva and Glover talk about and are aware of the differences in experience and the challenges they face coming into the high school arena.
Siva reflects on the transition coming into high school ball and finding himself at the helm of leadership at such a young age and the challenges he’s facing.
“From what I was told beforehand by my family, the game was going to be a lot faster, which it is,” says Siva. “Now it is not as difficult as I expected it to be, it is hard, but by training and preparing, it is getting easier as we go.”
“It’s faster, it’s bigger, and the age difference; everybody is older than me,” Siva continues. “My biggest challenge is building up my arm strength and speed. I may not be the biggest player on the field, but I make it up with intelligence. The other is establishing a relationship with the offensive line so I can have more time in the pocket.”
According to Glover, like Siva, he has found the speed of the game and getting up to speed in the playbook of high school football to be one of the most challenging aspects of high school football.
“The big difference in transitioning to high school football is I am not just playing against people my age,” says Glover. “I’m going against sophomores, juniors, and seniors, and that is a big difference, especially being a freshman.”
“Unlike little league where I played with friends over a period of time, now I am playing against people I don’t know; you know what I mean? There is a struggle in that,” Glover adds.
Being part of arguably the toughest football conference in the state – the Metro League Mountain Division – is not easy even when you have a team loaded with seniors, but whether they win or lose, Sampson knows that his team will continue to grow and flourish in the process.
“I am a player’s coach,” says Sampson regarding his coaching philosophy. “I do everything for my players, and I want them to be a reflection of me — tough, passionate, loving on the field as well as off the field. I want them to work hard, play hard, and I need them to be D1 student-athletes both on the field and in the classroom.”
“We are Rainier Beach, and we’re having a down year this year; we are young, but we’ll get back,” says Sampson. “We’ll get back to the drawing board and figure out what we need to get better at and get back into the thick of the hunt again.”
As for this year, Sampson is encouraging the community to support these young athletes in the same way that they supported the Rainier Beach teams that came before them.
“Support the youth movement,” Sampson continued. “We’re having one bad year in six years; we are looking to improve through these ups and downs. It depends on how you get up when you get knocked down; we will be back.”
