Jorge Chen

Menlo School, Cross Country, Track & Field, California

Double-Goal Coach Award Winner

Jorge Chen, Head Cross Country/Track & Field Coach and Assistant Soccer Coach at Menlo School has won Positive Coaching Alliance’s coveted National Double-Goal Coach® Award presented by TeamSnap for his positive impact on youth sports.

Chen is one of 50 national recipients of the Double-Goal Coach award, named for coaches who strive to win while also pursuing the more important goal of teaching life lessons through sports. The award includes a $200 prize, a certificate, and mention within the websites and newsletters of Positive Coaching Alliance (PCA), a national non-profit developing Better Athletes, Better People through youth and high school sports. In addition, Chen is one of four coaches who won an all expense paid trip to San Jose to be recognized at their 18th Annual National Youth Sports Awards Dinner and Benefit sponsored by Deloitte being held at the Leavey Center on the campus of Santa Clara University. He will participate in a panel discussion on stage with emcee for the evening, Mike Tirico of NBC Sports Broadcasting,

“Coach Chen helps athletes win in and out of sports,” said Tina Syer, President of Positive Coaching Alliance. “By creating a positive, character-building youth sports experience and serving as a Double-Goal Coach, Chen helps youth develop into better athletes and better people.”

Just by looking at the grin on his face, you can tell that Chen is a positive and uplifting coach.  He came to coaching in a roundabout way though, originally graduating from Stanford where he was a sprinter and on the rowing team, with an intended path to get into the financial arena.  After landing a job at a venture capitalist firm, he soon came to realize that he wasn’t feeling fulfilled.  While tutoring some students on the side, he was approached about coaching and began as a volunteer coach at a middle school in Menlo.  The high school athletic director soon reached out to him after seeing his approach with the kids and asked him to consider a position at Menlo School- that was 17 years ago.

Chen recognizes that kids have a lot of pressures these days, especially in the Silicon Valley environment, so he wants sports to be a release.  He says, “have fun at practice- you’ve been stressing out all day at school and I don’t want you to stress at practice too.”  He encourages players to “focus on the journey, be a good teammate, and have a lot of fun”. Best stated by his nominator, He brings enthusiasm to workouts, goofy humor to car trips, and irrepressible optimism to local meets and national championships alike. Everyone loves Jorge.”

A fanatic for data and a holistic approach to coaching, Chen bases his workouts heavily on science and math so kids can better relate to what he is asking of them.  He focuses on nutrition, hydration, sleep, stretching and icing, and the kids will follow his regime to the letter because they have seen the results he predicts come true. “Indeed, the only person not surprised by his teams’ many successes is Jorge. ‘trust me,’ he says, with a wink and a grin, ‘they do the work, and good things will come. You’ll see.’”

“Chen considers coaching to be a sacred responsibility and often talks about the many student-athletes he has been privileged to coach”, shared his nominator.  A student-athlete who suffered an injury her freshman year shared the responsibility he took in helping her get through the rehab and encouraging her as she worked to get back to practice. “He was with me every step of the way, making sure that as a freshman I was included in team bonding, checking in on how I was feeling, finding creative ways for me to cross-train to stay as fit as possible, and helping me stay positive and motivated,” she said. Whether you are the star athlete looking to play in college or just participating for PE credits, you matter to Coach Chen!

About Positive Coaching Alliance

Positive Coaching Alliance (PCA) develops BETTER ATHLETES, BETTER PEOPLE through resources for youth and high school sports coaches, parents, administrators and student-athletes. In addition to more than 1,800 free multimedia tips and tools at www.PCADevZone.org, PCA has partnered with roughly 3,500 schools and youth sports organizations nationwide to deliver more than 20,000 live group workshops, along with online courses and books by PCA Founder Jim Thompson that help those involved in youth and high school sports create a positive, character-building youth sports culture.

PCA resources, which have reached more than 8.6 million youth, strive to transform high school and youth sports into a Development Zone® culture, where the goal is to develop Better Athletes, Better People and the following become the prevailing models in youth and high school sports:

·       The Double-Goal Coach®, who strives to win while also pursuing the more important goal of teaching life lessons through sports.

·       The Second-Goal Parent®, who concentrates on life lessons, while letting coaches and athletes focus on competing.

·       The Triple-Impact Competitor®, who strives to impact sport on three levels by improving oneself, teammates and the game as a whole.

PCA gains support from a National Advisory Board, including National Spokesperson and 11-time NBA Champion Coach Phil Jackson, and many other top coaches, athletes, organization leaders and academics who share PCA’s mission. PCA is proud to partner with the National Hockey League, National Basketball Association, Major League Baseball and over 35 professional teams across the United States.

List of national winners of PCA’s 2019 Double-Goal Coach Award Presented by TeamSnap.

Contact:
Casey Miller
Director of External Relations
casey_miller@positivecoach.org (650) 210-0814