Sometimes a passion is born from a desire to overcome a failure and be the best in a field.
Sometimes a passion is born by chance, but sometimes it’s simple extension of a helping hand.
For Sobrato’s Athletes of the Year Jared Hatch and Gwyneth Tran, the road to high school athletics came about in differently but ended much the same: With friendships, memories and a passion that led them to success in the classroom and on the proverbial field.
For Tran, the road to high school athletics started with her older sister who served as a role model for what she wanted to become.
Tran took up track and field despite an aversion to running and in some ways field hockey too because of her sister, but that was really as the result of a chance encounter.
Tran said when she walked onto the Sobrato campus for the first time as a freshman, she said she was as lost as she must have looked.
Because a member of the Sobrato field hockey team approached her and offered to help her navigate the school and eventually to the practice field for field hockey.
“A lot of sports say they’re family, but field hockey, I really felt that,” Tran said. “Freshman year, I was lost, but I had gone to the field hockey conditioning and a field hockey girl saw me in the hallway looking lost and she was able to direct me.”
And that friendship carried Tran through despite having to endure three different coaches over four years.
“I like the sport, but I love the girls more,” Tran said. “That is really what brings you back every year is the camaraderie and the friendships you make.”
Field hockey is still a tertiary sport in California, something that more people start playing when they get into high school rather than picking up at a younger age like they might on the East Coast or in other countries.
For that reason, Tran said field hockey felt like a community.
“Every single team you played you would know someone,” Tran said. “And I had done a lot of outside field hockey camps over summers.”
Hatch didn’t so much looked lost as he literally lost in the pool.
At the age of 12, Hatch said he remembers coming in last in his heat at a swimming competition and swore he would never do that again.
He dropped the three or four other sports he was playing and took on swimming full time.
“I just quit all the other sports because I never wanted to feel that feeling again,” Hatch said. “Ever since then, I dedicated myself to anything that swimming involved with it.”
And Hatch got good.
He developed a taste for competition and developed his passion for the sport and needed every little fix he could get.
So he embraced the Sobrato swim team with full gusto, rather than just falling back to his club team.
“When Sobrato came along, I gave it my all and gave everything I had,” Hatch said. “Sobrato will always have a special place in my heart.”
Hatch advanced to the CCS finals all four years of high school, claiming Top 5 spots all four years. And this last year, he achieved his goal: A CCS title.
Hatch earned his title in the 200-yard freestyle, an event he competed at a high level in through his run at Sobrato. But that title came because he finally let go of the event some thought he would eventually earn a CCS title in: The 500y free, which he gave up at the start of his senior season.
“Me and my coaches realized my body is changing and as it’s changing, it’s leaning more toward the shorter, faster events like the 100 fly that I did this year,” Hatch said. “… My body is changing toward the 100 fly. I saw an opportunity so I took it and I’m glad I did.”
And that said, the 200y free was always his “bread and butter.”
Hatch said the title finally came thanks to all the hard work he put in and having to turn down requests from friends and family to take part in something else so he could dedicate the time to swimming.
For Tran, sacrificing a summer to workouts for field hockey was an easy choice. She said she enjoys keeping busy and—apart from having to wake up early—field hockey gave her an excuse to get out of the house and be active.
And that was on top of doing tae kwon do on the side, which she began at the age of 4.
The honor of athlete of the year was a surprise for both athletes, who knew there were plenty of good candidates in their class who would be worthy of the honor.
“I was very surprised because there were a lot of good athletes in our year,” Tran said. “There were girls like Megan Perron who is going to Claremont-McKenna for softball, so I knew there was a lot of competition.”
And especially for Hatch who focused on a single sport through out high school, being named Athlete of the Year was something he thought he could get but wasn’t expecting.
“It was in the back of my mind that someone with three sports and honor roll could definitely take that,” Hatch said. “So I was definitely happy when I got it.”
Both will be heading off to college next year at one of the top universities in the state: UC Berkeley. And they both got to the same university in a way that mirrored both their rises in athletics.
Hatch earned a college scholarship to swim for Cal thanks to his dedication in the water both growing up and in high school. Tran got a little break after being on the Berkeley wait list.
Tran will go in undeclared, but hopes to eventually focus on math to eventually become a teacher. Hatch is hoping to eventually major in business.
Advice for past self
As a freshman, Hatch took fifth and sixth in his two events at CCS. It was a big accomplishment to pull off a Top 5 finish against more experienced swimmers, but Hatch said he was upset he didn’t do better.
Looking back, Hatch is left feeling conflicted about his reaction.
“I wish I knew how big that was for a freshman as opposed to beating myself up on it and not being as happy as I should have been,” Hatch said. “I would say patient, but it was kind of good I beat myself up because it made me work that much harder.”
He did say he wish he didn’t feel the stress as bad even if it drive him to be better. Ultimately, however, Hatch said he is where he wanted to be.
“I think it worked out perfectly,” he said.
Tran said she wished she realized earlier that she didn’t need to fill her sister’s shoes.
“I think I would have performed better if I didn’t have that expectation for myself rather than just letting myself perform,” Tran said.
Tran said it was harder in her freshman year to get out of those expectations, but eventually as she found her voice in the sport, she focused on what she could do rather than what she thought she needed to do.
For track, Tran said being good at the 300-meter hurdles her freshman year was huge because her sister never was so it gave her something that was uniquely hers.
Proudest moments
As hard as both athletes worked in their sports, they also got it done in the classroom.
For Tran it was that work in the classroom that she values a little bit more.
Her sophomore year, she took AP world history, but didn’t get the score she wanted on the AP test.
So Tran took AP US History the following year, a class that required a lot of reading and a lot of time to keep up with. Going into the AP test, Tran said she didn’t feel as confident going in, but when the results came she had scored higher than anticipated.
“It felt like busy work while you were doing it, but when you take the test, you realize it was all preparing you for the test,” Tran said. “It was a lot of primary documents and a lot of reading.”
Hatch’s proudest moment—CCS title aside—came thanks to having one year with his brother in the same pool.
The duo were together on the 400y freestyle that came one place away from earning a spot in the second day of CCS competition.
Hatch said his brother took off on the second leg of the relay and he saw something out of him he had not seen before.
“He pushed through and that was the most I had ever seen him actually try and genuinely want to win in swimming because he’s a water polo player,” Hatch said. “Just seeing him share the same love for the same sport that I love was a very proud moment for me. And we ended up winning our heat so it was definitely a great last relay; my last relay ever with him.”
Advice for future athletes
For future Bulldogs, the advice from both athletes was simple: Don’t be afraid to try.
Tran said there is nothing to be lost by simply going out to the first practice but friends and confidence to gain.
“Just go for it,” Tran said. “Just try it. You won’t regret trying and it will probably work out for the best. And be yourself.”
Hatch said sometimes doing a sport means going out of your comfort zone, but that is OK.
“Don’t be scared of (going against) stereotypes,” Hatch said. “Obviously I’m brown and I’m a swimmer, so that’s obviously not the most cliched thing. That’s rare. So don’t be afraid of (going against) stereotypes.”
And as important as sports are, the work in the classroom has to be even more so.
“Do whatever sports you want, but make sure you have time for school. School is always first, besides family,” Hatch said. “Make sure your grades are always up because otherwise you can’t compete.”
