In fall of 2021, my freshman year, I decided to try out for the freshman basketball team. Coming from a small middle school, I wasn’t sure if my skills would translate well to high school. In the end, I was just hoping that I make any team, whether it was freshman or JV. After the first day, everyone gathered around a tall man with long dreadlocks, reading a list of players who were being brought up to practice with the JV team. He called my name.
In my two years playing for coach Charlie Espinosa, I came to love the sport of basketball. As my teammates and I were learning the highs and lows of the sport, he was too. My freshman year was also Espinosa’s first year coaching high school basketball, although he had coached Special Olympics basketball prior.
“There’s no coach I’ve ever had that’s like him,” junior Elias Gomez said. “I think every good basketball player should love an intense coach who pushes them to their limits.”
How coach Espinosa became the head coach for the JV team of an established and well-put-together basketball program is nothing short of amazing.
In 2018, Espinosa’s friend Skylar Silva in Grass Valley, CA, where he grew up, got accepted into Humboldt State University. He asked Charlie if he would like to move up North with him. Having no other plans, he said yes.
Espinosa moved to Humboldt with no intention of coaching basketball. After purchasing a pair of Nike Kyrie Irving basketball shoes from Foot Locker, it lit a fire inside of him to reconnect with the game. COVID-19 stood in the way of this passion. With most indoor basketball gyms being closed due to the pandemic, he had to find a way to get on the court.
Espinosa reached out to the head coach of the Arcata High boys basketball team at the time, Dusty Schofield.
“I said ‘hey, basically, I’m looking to get involved with basketball,’” Espinosa said. “‘I want to get on the court, and I can help in any way possible.’ And he brought me on to his staff.”
His first year on the staff was in 2020. Due to COVID-19, there were only eight games played. The next year, Schofield told Espinosa he was taking over coaching the JV boys team. He maintained winning records during both of his two years with the JV boys team.
“I just fell in love with it. I fell in love with the school and the community,” Espinosa said. “After my second year, an opportunity to coach the girl’s varsity team came up. And I’m just arrogant and crazy enough to think that I could’ve done it,” Espinosa said.
He applied for it and got the job. He had a wildly successful first season at the helm. The team went 22-9 and lost in the Division 4 Nor-Cal Regional Championship to St. Bernards in a huge local game for women’s basketball. St. Bernards went on to win the state championship in Sacramento.
Espinosa is looking forward to another successful season filled with growth and resilience. “I think they’re gonna have a great season this year,” Gomez said. “I think Charlie is a great leader and the team will keep getting better.”
He has already made a name for himself as a coach, but he also makes a huge impact on campus and in the community. “He is probably one of the best leaders I have had the privilege of just observing,” AHS science and math teacher Alyssa Guererro said.“When I think about how he has impacted students, I think about the word inspire. I think of the words power and growth.”
Espinosa is a behavior support aid at Arcata High School. He has also spent a lot of time working in the special education program. He brings a positive presence to the Arcata High campus. However, The contrast between Espinosa’s calm and courteous demeanor on campus and his intense and determined comportment on the court is noticeable.
“I think he definitely recognizes work mode and locking in,” Guererro said. “Whatever mode he’s in, what really comes off clear is that dedication and love for really supporting whoever it is he’s working with.”
From the beginning of his journey in Arcata to now, Charlie Espinosa has put 100% effort into everything he has done whether it’s at work or on the court. It is clear that he will continue to make an impact on students in any setting. The Arcata community is lucky to have Charlie Espinosa around.
