6 MONTEREY COUNTY WEEKLY JANUARY 12-18, 2023 www.montereycountyweekly.com 831 Jose Gil had a problem—a serious one, under the circumstances. As he recalls the moment, one concern reverberated through his head: “I hope my phone doesn’t run out of battery.” It was Dec. 16 and the occasion, in familial terms, was big. Gil’s son, Josue Gil-Silva, had just taken the floor for Stanford in a basketball game against Green Bay—his first appearance for the squad after being elevated from the student manager role a few weeks earlier. That Stanford had the game in hand and Gil-Silva spent just two minutes on court was of no consequence. Probably not for the last time, Gil was intent on recording a moment in his son’s life. But he was, for the first time, experiencing the joy and angst of a Division 1 college parent. “It’s a roller coaster ride, and I don’t like roller coasters,” he says. “But I’m enjoying this one.” Gil is not often ruffled by something taking place on a basketball court—or in life, for that matter. He grew up in an East Salinas listing dangerously under the weight of drugs and crime, worked the fields with his parents, helped Alisal High School to the 198889 league title as a senior under coach Jim Rear and returned in 1997 to helm the basketball squad himself. In 2010 Gil and his wife Eva Silva— also a basketball standout at Alisal— launched the nonprofit Gil Basketball Academy with the assistance of volunteers and local coaches. His son is a product of Alisal High and the academy. Meanwhile, his nephew Isa Silva is a guard at Stanford. Yet molding talented boys and girls into college basketball prospects is not at the core of the academy’s mission. “If it were all about basketball, we’d be going after the best players,” Gil says. Instead, the mission is to develop the character traits that lead to success in academics and life, to show young people potential through visits to colleges and other trips and let them know what it takes to achieve those goals. “There are teaching moments in anything,” he adds. “How can I make someone better?” Both parents teach at Alisal. Silva earned a degree in biology from Stanford, followed by a master’s in education. Gil’s route was not as certain. “When I was in high school, I didn’t know what I wanted to do,” he recalls. No one in his family had gone past high school. Hartnell College reached out to him about basketball. But high school counselor Pam Bernhard pulled Gil aside one day and ensured him that he could excel as a college student. “She changed my life,” he says. Gil earned a degree in applied art and design from Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo, where his roommate was Francisco Silva, Eva’s brother, and an introduction followed. The couple made it a point to return home. “The community that raised you, we want to make a difference,” Silva says. “We both really wanted to teach at Alisal.” They describe Josue Gil-Silva as a motivated student. His mother read to him as a child. Gil-Silva credits his father’s interest in art—as well as a robotics course at Alisal—for an interest in imagining the possibilities between problems and solutions that led him into mechanical engineering studies at Stanford. As a student manager for the basketball team, Gil-Silva became adept at finding windows of time between practices and games, during flights or in hotel rooms to keep up with his studies. In the Gil Basketball Academy’s 13 years, Gil-Silva may not be the biggest success story. Rosters over the years have been filled with young people overcoming difficulties. But the lessons imparted of shooting for and reaching goals is part of his being. “Sports teach so many valuable lessons,” the Stanford senior says. “Resilience, trust the work you’re putting in—that translates to life.” A refrain of Gil as a coach is that no matter the outcome, one should never stop playing. “I’m not going to stop coaching,” he adds. Except when watching his son on the court in Stanford colors. “Now he’s being a dad,” Gil-Silva says. Family Matters When his son suited up for Stanford, Salinas coach Jose Gil watched for the first time as a father. By Dave Faries Nayali, Sammy, mom Eva Gil-Silva, Josue and dad Jose Gil pose after Stanford knocked off Loyola (Illinois) 75-62 at the Kaiser Permanente Arena in Santa Cruz on Dec. 22. “It’s a roller coaster ride, and I don’t like roller coasters.” TALES FROM THE AREA CODE COURTESY JOSE GIL kazu 90.3 a community service of CSU Monterey Bay NPRsm for the Monterey Bay Area If you’d like to sponsor our next ad, please give us a call Crumb Crumb is a morsel of canine goodness. He is the most affectionate little guy and loves to be as close to his person as possible all day long. Crumb likes going for daily brisk walks and is very well-behaved on leash. Crumb is a 10-year-old, 14-pound, Neutered Male, Chiweenie Mix. If you’d like to meet Crumb, please fill out an online adoption questionnaire. P.O. Box 51554, Pacific Grove 831.718.9122 peaceofminddogrescue.org AD SPONSORED by Carolyn Martinez In memory of Kitty Ka Koo.
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