Vince D’Adamo: Whether it has been Calistoga High or Santa Rosa Junior College, what do you continue to enjoy about competing in athletics?
Jonah Pelter: I have realized is that as we get older, especially coming from the Napa Valley and/or Calistoga, we are in such a tiny bubble whether it’s work, athletics, or academics. I don’t mean that in a bad way but it’s a small town that’s not even a dot on the world. I recognize the fact I’m still on this athletic journey. I don’t take it for granted because I know how easy it is to get off that path.
As John Wooden would say, “It’s not about the destination, it’s about the journey.” I enjoy competing and working with athletes from Sonoma County that went to bigger schools like Maria Carrillo, Piner, Santa Rosa and Montgomery. You make friends. When you go to practice everyday and work hard, you form relationships with the people doing the same thing. I’m around people that have the same educational goals as me. I’m surrounded by people who want to be successful, not that I wasn’t in high school.
D’Adamo: What is your major and what are your plans after SRJC?
Pelter: I’m a communications major and hopefully in my last year here before I transfer. I’m looking at UCLA, Cal State Northridge, UC San Diego, UC Davis, Cal State San Marcos, and University of LaVerne. I was a journalism major but I like communications because it’s broader. I have realized that there are a lot of things I can do with a communications major. After I graduate, I’d like to take some time to travel abroad and see the world more. I went to Israel last summer, it was an amazing experience. Hopefully I can get a job involving social progress, sports commentating, or maybe doing some hip-hop commentary.
D’Adamo: You hear so much about the balance between school, athletics and simply being a 19-year old youngster takes on a life of its own. How much have you found that to be true?
Pelter: Running track has kept me balanced. If I was just coming to school here, I’d probably be working at a job and possibly be academically frustrated. I’d probably think, “I work this job four days and week and make good money. I’ll just drop out and make more money.” Instead, I have practice four days a week and you get priority registration when you are a student-athlete. I schedule my days around practice knowing that everyday at 2:30 p.m. and know I’ll be tired after practice. It allows me to see where I can free up study time.
I’m lucky to have a coach that cares about your success as a student-athlete and as a person. Some coaches don’t care about student success. I’m blessed to run for coach (David) Wellman. I try not to overwhelm myself. I set little study goals during the day. People have similar goals as you. They are in college because they want to succeed in one thing or another.
D’Adamo: This question is an extension from earlier but how much has experiencing life outside of the Calistoga bubble changed you?
Pelter: I still live in Calistoga but I’m immersed in Santa Rosa. This has become a home for me. It makes me realize that we are not that much different. Everyone has strengths and weaknesses and has a dream. It could be a simple dream like going to the dentist and not having cavities. It could be something complex like becoming the first Mexican Senator in Rhode Island. We are all working toward something. Everyone is on their own journey. For some people, it takes more time to bloom. There will always be an occasional societal factor but it’s really up to me. Being at the JC has made me more academically inclined. I’m realized that being in this environment, I love going to school and discussing things with classmates and teachers. Of course, there are some classes I don’t like. I’m reading more books. I’m curious about the world whether it’s politics, social issues. Before I had fewer dimensions.
D’Adamo: Whether it is teachers or coaches, who at Calistoga High has been influential to the point where it still remains strong?
Pelter: Coach (Paul) Harrell was very influential. If you came to one of our practices, you heard him yell my last name about 20 times. He’s tough, blue collar guy. Any one of his players would second that. I remember one day, we were on the track doing a two-mile run during the summer. He was following us on his bike. I was just crazy tired. I decided that I had enough. I’m like, “I’m going to tell coach I’m sick. It’s hot. This is nonsense. I’ll go home and watch Sportscenter.” When I told him I wasn’t feeling well you could sense that he thought I was full of it. He told me about the voice inside my head that wanted me to do stuff. He taught me how to combat that. At the time I didn’t think much of it but as I have grown that was the truest statement ever spoken to me. I told paul that moment changed my life. As humans, we all have potential to do amazing things.
There are so many great teachers at Calistoga High, which gets a bad wrap, which is truly unfortunate because there are amazing faculty members that I still communicate with to this day. Tyrone Sorrentino was a very influential teacher. He’s an art teacher. He expanded my mind on what art is. He taught me that it is not just painting. It’s the art of expression. That’s how I started rapping. That’s how I express myself by writing poetry. He is a well-dimensioned guy. I would also include Ruth Gelinas. She’s an amazing teacher. She made me realize how much potential everyone has. The work she does with her academic support class. I also think of John Lowell and Gary Guttman. The list goes on.
D’Adamo: Relevant to Calistoga High football, you saw the best of times as a junior and the worst of times as a senior. The one thing I think of is, life is full of victories and defeats, how much have both outcomes taught you that’s what life awaits?
Pelter: I’ve picked up things from both years. Our 2013 season, we were one of the best teams the high school has ever seen. I know that’s a bold statement and we fell short of what we were truly capable of. I feel like we were not only talented and worked hard, everyone loved playing football. People were out there 30 minutes before practice but we loved the game. Coach (Jake) Blakeley, Coach (Donnie and Chad) Taylor and Coach Harrell wanted us to do that but it wasn’t a big deal because we loved it. You have to be committed but you also have to love what you’re doing. Time is such a valuable asset in a person’s life. I believe that team made Calistoga football in general better. Younger kids that are coming up now like Christian Caldera, who is going to be a star you heard it here first, that watched that team and said, “Wow, this is amazing.” They saw the spirit.
Then in my senior year, they saw the lack of spirit. I also realized that year that even though we struggled we were a good football team. We didn’t put everything together. I learned that season that you have to come together. We all liked each other but we didn’t have that same preparation as the team before. Weight-training was sparse in the summer. That’s on me as well because I was a captain and I should have capitalized on that more but you live and learn. This past year I was the sprinters captain at SRJC. I have realize what works and what doesn’t work. There’s a great line from a rapper named Big Sean, “My mistakes are my greatest professors.” That team didn’t communicate as well and we should have disclosed more things between players and coaches. You can have talent but that doesn’t mean squat. It can get you a nice little highlight but you have to work for it.
That was a tough season but got our tails kicked a lot of times but I realized that we are a damn tough group of people. We stuck it out, not just my senior class but guys like Oscar Perez, Tavo Rios, and Flavio Fernandez. That is true toughness when the going gets tough. I had an amazing group of teammates like Zane Murphy, Timmy Montanez, Jonathan Quinones, Carlos Rios, Edgar Avina, Jorge Polanco, and Toby Buckley. I could keep going. Those guys are my brothers. So much of what I do at Calistoga comes from the Band of Brothers. I wouldn’t be here without those guys. It gets me emotional just thinking about it.
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