Gadsden REPEATS as State Champions

Gadsden High School in Anthony, N.M.

Some high school athletic programs have built in advantages. And of course many successful athletic programs create their own advantages by raising funds and developing a culture that breeds success and winning attitudes. However, like most things in society, most athletic programs simply fall into the “average” category. Anthony, New Mexico is not a city where built-in advantages could ever be portrayed as part of the cultural or socio-economic landscape. The school district is located in one of the poorest areas in the entire nation. Illiteracy is rampant. Drop-out rates are alarming. Illegitimate birth rates are approaching a situation best described as an epidemic. English is spoken as a second language by a large percentage of the population. Poverty, as much as any other word, defines the economic circumstances of the vast majority of students attending Gadsden High School.

Along comes Head Volleyball Coach Al Rosen. Al Rosen doesn’t seem to believe in poor me concepts like: less fortunate or under-privileged. Rosen does not see a system that is stacked against him. And on Saturday in an arena just north of Rio Rancho in the town of Bernalillo, Coach Al Rosen’s Gadsden volleyball team accomplished what most sports observers in the Land of Enchantment believe was for all intents and purposes.....“unthinkable.” The Gadsden Panthers, REPEATED as Class 5-A State Champions. That is right. They repeated.

Facing Cleveland High of Rio Rancho one of the state's best-equipped high schools, Rosen’s squad was up against some of the tallest and most talented players in the state. Somehow it didn’t matter. In what amounted to a home game for Cleveland in the nearby Santa Ana Star Center, second-seeded Gadsden rebounded from a bad start and outlasted the top-seeded Storm 23-25, 26-24, 24-26, 25-18, 16-14.

What Coach Rosen and the young ladies at Gadsden High School accomplished this weekend, was nothing short of remarkable. The entire state, perhaps the entire nation, should take notice of what can be accomplished when good old-fashioned work ethic is combined with an emphasis on personal responsibility, teamwork, and an intelligent approach to rigors of competition. The Gadsden Panthers and Coach Al Rosen are to be commended. They deserve a trip to the Governor's office.

Gadsden REPEATS as State Champions