Siles continues making impact at Richmond

To the rabid fanbase that is the Richmond High soccer community, head coach Rene Siles is the equivalent of what John Wooden was to UCLA basketball. He's more than a coach. He's a figure in the community. He's an influence in the lives of young men who grow up, often times, in less than ideal circumstances. Richmond is 20 miles northeast of San Francisco, and just 12 miles from Oakland. It is a city with a lot of pride, it is a city with some of the best Mexican food you will ever eat in your life, but it is also a city with a crime problem. The violent crime is three times the state average and the property crime is nearly double. Teenagers come from broken homes, poverty or even worse, fall in with gangs. Because of this, many kids from Richmond shorten their world view and narrow their perspective as far as what they can accomplish. Siles' goal is to change that. Siles was part of the genesis of the "College is Real" program at Richmond High, which helps students and student-athletes understand that college, and experiences beyond Richmond, are actual possibilities. "The first thing is to plant the seed, because with most of them the thought of college is not there," Siles said. "Their goal is to just graduate high school. We want them to fight the temptation to fall into a comfort zone." The goal of CIR is to prepare students to take the right courses to get them into college, instead of just accumulating credits to graduate high school and to help them stay in college. This is important to Siles who often times sees 100 percent of his team go to college. This was not even close to the case before the program began 11 years ago. Siles has been on the touchline for the Oilers for 22 seasons, and far beyond his importance as a coach, he is a mentor and a guide. He spends as much time teaching how to become a young man as he does on how to pick apart the defenses of his opponents. He is a generous man, with his time and resources, and you will be hard-pressed to find anyone who would say a negative word about him. "I'm not sure words can appropriately describe the impact coach Rene has had on the community at Richmond High School," De La Salle head coach Derricke Brown said. "He has walked side-by-side with players and their families for such a long time. His impact will surely benefit future generations of Aceiteros." Siles has made it a mission to have a positive influence on the lives of the players he coaches and has coached. He engages all of his players and pushes them towards CIR and he pushes them to be smart in their decision-making outside of the walls of Richmond High. "Our world is better because of Rene," San Ramon Valley coach Don Busboom said. "I can only speculate what he mans for his community, but in my personal interactions Rene is one of the few people who sees and acts outside of his self-interest. He is emblematic of what it means to love, to willingly give oneself up for another." Siles has done plenty of winning on the pitch as well as off of it. He has 326 career wins in 21 seasons, becoming just the second coach of record with 300 wins in the North Coast Section. The 300th win came on December 27, 2018, a 2-0 victory over Harvard-Westlake at the SoCal High School Soccer Showcase. Busboom is the other active coach with over 300 wins. But for Siles it's not about the wins and losses. It's about the impact he has on lives. "It's more meaningful than just soccer," Siles said. "We try to help them with their choices and realize their academic potential. Additionally, we want to help them see their place in the world and connect them to society and help them see beyond Richmond."