Student-Athlete of the Week – Cesar Vela
The triple threat. Cesar Vela is one of the best complete athletes in the valley. But it’s not just his athletic ability that stands out.
“He’s someone that other kids gravitate to,” said Rancho Mirage baseball coach David Shaw.
“I don’t look to be a leader, it’s just something I do, it’s just something that’s in me,” said Vela.
Vela is a lead-by-example kind of guy. He lets his play speak for itself, and it certainly does.
“I’m just a crazy kid and when I get on the field and I’m able to translate that to the field, I’m just out there having fun," Vela said.
“The individual himself, where people rally around you and he knows what to say in the right situation, not to tear down people, to build them up. I don’t know how you create somebody like him in that sense and that’s what we’re going to miss truly,” Shaw said.
His will to win has helped him succeed on the football field, basketball court and baseball diamond throughout his high school career.
“This kid truly hates to lose more than probably anybody that I know,” Shaw said.
“You have to be disciplined in order to get things done and you have to have that will to compete… and whenever there’s someone else going up against you, that you’ve got to win,” Vela said.
Coach Shaw says that drive rubs off on his teammates.
“He fires them up to keep them working harder and that’s the guy right there, that’s a guy you want to be around,” he said.
Vela plans to continue his athletic career at the next level, possibly as a two-sport athlete - football and baseball.
“He has the moves in football, juking and all that. He has the arm strength, the mental fortitude in baseball and basketball… but there’s also more in there,” Shaw said.
Coach Shaw says that if anybody can do it, it’s him.
“He has all these people behind him because he’s one of those kids that earned it,” Shaw said.
