Cal High Hometown Legacy

The month of March, we celebrate women in history, we think of women who have made an impact on history. Toneka Webb-Lund always had the team on her mind. Genevieve Isola, a team member 2002-2004, states, “At 32 years old, I still hear Toneka’s voice in my head, every single time the world challenges me. At 15, she changed my life, she taught me to fight hard, to never make excuses. When I think of women changing the world and shaping young women to become strong, powerful leaders, I think of Toneka.

Coach Toneka was inducted to the Calfornia High School Athletic Hall of Fame by the Boosters Saturaday at the Crow Canyon Country Club. She has been coaching for 24 years and counting; starting her journey as a high school Junior on the Varsity Cheer squad who took on choreographing the Freshman Cheer Team. The following year, as a senior in 93-94 she stayed on as their official coach. In 1994, she coached what became Song Team (which is a dance sport team) to win the USA Nationals in Anaheim after which the mayor of San Ramon presented the team and the coach with an honorary ceremony. This team evolved into what is now Varsity Song , the following year (1995) her team qualified for UDA Nationals at the ESPN Sports Center in Orlando, Florida for the first time, and has repeated this legacy for over 20 years. For 14 years, her teams became Finalists advancing to the 3rd bracket of competition in Florida. For 9 of these years, as the top 10 in the country, consistently placing in the top 20 beating out over 300 teams. In 2012, the team finished 3rd in Jazz and 6th in Pom. Consistently, each year her team wins 1st place at local competitions as there is no team that comes close to her athletes in the area. Her All American athletes also win awards for sportsmanship and leadership. What is really amazing is that her coaching beat the odds when it competed nationally. National competitors have multiple coaches, choreographers and sponsors –no other team at the National level was coached by 1 coach.

Reflecting on Coach Toneka, Nicole Whitehead, Captain of the first Varsity Song Team at Cal High said: “When Toneka Webb-Lund first became my coach, she was a baby. We were a freshman squad, she had the difficult job of coaching girls who were essentially her peers. Somehow, she turned us into strong, capable women, when she was just in the process of becoming one herself as, the Song team didn’t even exist. It was a vision brought about by our squad, and she helped to build it into a (very successful) reality.

As a songleader competing on the national level I learned from Toneka: how to lead and how to follow; how to be confident and how to be humble; how to take responsibility; how the success or failure of a whole lies in the hands of each team member; how to dig deep physically and mentally; how to manage time; how to listen to others; how to reach out and support someone at their weakest; how to ‘get back on the horse’ after failure; how to cultivate nerves of steel and most of all, how to dream big and never believe the word “can’t”.

In my doctoral program, one of my collegues used to refer to me as “nails”, as in, “tough as…”. That reputation I gained as being unflappable in the face of challenge was cultivated almost entirely through the process of being on a nationally ranked sports team with a coach such as Toneka. I find myself often tracing the origins of my strengths directly to skills I learned and honed as a songleader at Cal. I also look at the strong and successful women who my teammates and other Song alumni have become and it is clear to me that I am not the only one who was set on a great path by Toneka’s leadership and teaching.

Youth sports should build positive, functional life skills and the single most important role of a youth sports coach is to facilitate that process. I can honestly say that, aside from my parents, Toneka has been one of the single most influential people in helping to mold who I am today and what I have subsequently achieved. She’s been coaching at Cal since 1992 - so by my rough calculation, there are literally hundreds of women who are more capable, more team-oriented, more hard-working, more confident, and stronger than they otherwise would have been, because they were coached by Toneka Webb-Lund…..what a legacy. Thank you, Toneka.”

In 2011, Toneka told the Californian, “It’s important that you are a good, solid student, it shows effort; if you work hard in school, you’re probably going to work hard at everything you do.” Her team often maintained the highest G.P.A. of all the NCS as stated on Cal High Sports in 2012 highlighting Toneka and team's achievement.

Jesse Goodman, class of 2016, said. Every young woman who has been on her team has come out a better person because of her.” Alumni, Stacey Magdefrau said in 2012, “She is really strict, so you better be on your game at practice, constantly going for it.”

Toneka’s teams don’t just compete, they support their peers and community. As a team, they have Adopted Families, helped with blood drives and events for St. Jude’s, perform double seasons each year for football and basketball games as well as for other Cal High teams that request a performance.

It is not a wonder that Toneka’s alumni have gone on to do great things; graduate from Harvard law school, become doctors, physical therapists, business professionals, teachers, coaches, dancers for Broadway, the NFL and the NBA ;many attribute their perseverance to her. A testament to her legacy is that alumni still come together to dance with her when she is willing to give them choreography.

Toneka’s care for the individual runs deep in the Cal High Song team, she has coached these athletes to be great in life by working hard and to give back to others, qualities we want all of our children to have. In closing, former Song team member, Stacey Magdafrau said it all, “I would never trade Toneka in for any other coach, ever,”