Alameda Students Being Recruited By Colleges

Submitted by Alameda Unified School District

High school athletes sometimes get labeled in not-so-nice ways, including as being “dumb jocks” or as being academically unmotivated. Yet national research shows that students who play high school sports tend to be just the opposite.

In addition to being fit and learning crucial life skills, such time management and persistence, their grades and test scores are often higher than students who don’t play high school sports.

Moreover, studies show, high school athletes go on to exhibit leadership and team skills, work in higher-paying jobs, and do more community service as adults.

The Alameda Unified School District (AUSD) is able to support high school athletics because of Measure A, a $12 million parcel tax passed by voters in 2011. The measure allots four percent of those annual revenues, about $480,000 per year, for high school sports, including coach stipends, uniforms, and equipment in sports such as football, volleyball, and cross country.

That financial support, in turn, often translates into transformative experiences for students. This week, we want to introduce you to two amazing AUSD high school athletes who exemplify the kinds of young people our academic and athletic programs help to develop.

“A Passionate, Kind Young Man”

Kadeef Salaam, Encinal High School

Four years ago, Kadeef Salaam wasn’t sure he wanted to keep living. He didn’t feel his life had purpose. He felt a tremendous amount of personal pain and depression that he didn’t know how to handle.

Then he got involved with high school sports.

Salaam, now 17 and a senior at Encinal Jr. & Senior High School (EJSHS), had participated in the Alameda Education Foundation’s basketball and track programs in middle school. Just before his sophomore year at EHS, however, a friend suggested that he try football there.

“I was a little nervous,” Salaam says now. “I wasn’t the biggest kid trying out. But with the help of my friends and coaches, I got more comfortable with it that first year on the JV team. I felt more at ease.”

The next year, Salaam, who plays free safety and wide receiver for the Jets, made varsity and earned Honorable Mention All League. This year he made WACC 1st Team All League and finished top five in interceptions in North Coast Section (NCS). Throughout high school, Salaam also won multiple awards for track, including the triple jump and the 100 meter dash. This fall he is being recruited for football and track by several Division I schools, including UC Davis, UC Irvine, and several CSUs.

“I’ve learned so much from football,” he says. “I’ve learned to go through adversity – especially last year, when we had to forfeit the Island Bowl. That was a very rough circumstance. People called us hoodlums. But as a team we came together. We learned that we have each others’ backs, and we have to help each other out when things don’t go our way. We became a better team, a better family.”

Salaam hopes to enter a pre-law program in college and eventually become a criminal defense attorney. He’s active in the EHS Student Justice Center led by Jets Athletic Director Micki Singer, which develops restorative solutions and proper jurisdiction for students who have been disciplined. He is also active in the Bayanihan Youth Group, a Filipino advocacy group. Most important, he feels a dedication to personal growth, leadership, and helping others. “People have helped me go through my struggle. They gave me what I always wanted and always needed,” he says. “I like having the ability to do the same and help others, too.”

Adds Singer, “Kadeef embodies what it means to be a student athlete at Encinal. He is a leader on the field, in the classroom, and in the community. As one of the founding members of the Student Justice Center and a standout athlete, Kadeef’s legacy as a thoughtful, passionate, and kind young man is assured. All students would be well served to follow in his footsteps.”

“A Model Student-Athlete”

Vitani Harrison, Alameda High School

Vitani Harrison started playing football with the Pop Warner Oakland Dynamites when he was 8 years old – but he fell in love with football even earlier than that. “I started wanting to play when my Dad took me out to play catch when I was about six,” he says.

As a junior, Harrison transferred to Alameda High School (AHS) from Dougherty Valley High School in San Ramon. He joined the Hornets varsity team as a linebacker and was voted to the WACC 2nd Team All League. This year he played safety and wide receiver. In the regular season, he was second on the team in tackles, with 63 total tackles at the safety position. In the post season, he was named to the WACC 1st Team All League.

“He was the top big play player on offense,” says AHS football coach Kemp Moyer, “averaging 18.5 yards per carry on 16 carries for 296 yards and a touchdown.”

His high school football career, Harrison says, helped him develop discipline and overcome obstacles. “You learn to push yourself hard on game day and to keep up with your conditioning,” he says. Being on a team also helped him learn to work with and depend on other people. “My team is like family,” he says. “When you’re down on yourself, your teammates encourage you and help you keep going.”

That’s been especially helpful, says this 17-year-old, since a family member developed a rare illness. Although that family member is doing better now, at one point Harrison had to help her every day after practice. “I pushed through,” he says. “My teammates helped me get through.”

“Vitani is a model student-athlete who dedicated himself to his athletic craft year-round, while also working diligently to elevate his academic success to the highest level possible,” says AHS football coach Kemp Moyer. “Football helped him stay positive and focused when his family member was ill and he felt the stress of that very challenging situation. The football team provided a support system for Vitani to lean on in trying personal times.”

An honor roll student for the last three years, Harrison hopes to attend a Division 1 school next year. He is currently considering Dartmouth, San Jose State, University of Nevada at Reno, and University of Michigan. “I’m looking forward to being more independent,” he says, “to playing in front of bigger crowds. It’s another chapter. I’ve overcome so many other things, I think I’ll be able to handle this.”

“Alameda is so fortunate to benefit from the contributions and support of its citizens, particularly with regard to how adults here work closely with our young people,” says Superintendent Sean McPhetridge. “I am grateful and thankful to be able to work in such a caring community.”