1. Published: Sept. 8, 2006 - MAS Magazine
Awards: Kern Press Club Awards, Print – Sports Feature
20 making a difference: Athletics
Jesse Toledo: Coach, mentor, friend comes full circle
By: Lisa Wuertz
Jesse Toledo’s biggest loss came at the tender age of 12 — when his father died.
If not for his high school coach and mentor — Armando Vasquez — even Toledo doesn’t know what would
have become of him.
Vasquez guided Toledo through important life decisions, even helping him to get a job at the company he
has been with for 28 years, Kern Turf Supply.
“He’s an awesome individual,” said Toledo of his coach, mentor and friend. “He has taught me so much,
it’s amazing ... He’s a mentor as well as a, ‘I’ll-kick-you-in-the-teeth-if-you-screw-up,’ kind of a guy,
which is good — we all need that,” said Toledo.
At 45, Toledo’s come full circle — now he’s the coach, mentor and friend for troubled kids.
Again, it was Vasquez that inspired him to make a difference and contribute to his community through
volunteer football coaching as a way to “pay back” his mentor.
“Being that I don’t have (any) money to give him, he said, ‘Hey, down the road, you’re going to have to
pay it back.’ This is how I do it,” Toledo said. “I’ve been coaching for the Boy’s & Girl’s Club and for Jack
Frost.”
Toledo has coached since he was 18, finding the volunteer work very fulfilling.
“What I like about coaching is the feeling, the satisfaction that I’m actually involved with someone. You
know, in their lives,” he said. “What I like about coaching are the end results. I’ve got six kids in Iraq
right now that have gone through my camps. I always keep in contact with them, kinda like I always keep
in contact with my mentor,” Toledo said.
In more full-circle effect, Toledo’s relationship with his mentor is now one where he coaches Vasquez’s
own child.
Parents of the teams Toldeo coaches respond well to his style.
“I completely trust Jesse as a coach,” said football parent and co-worker, Monica Martin.
Martin has one older son that already went through Toledo’s program.
The close relationship Toledo has with many of his student athletes puts him in a position where he can
impart wisdom.
“There’s times these kids call me and say, ‘Coach, I need to talk to you. This is what happened, what do I
do, who do I talk to?’” Toledo said. “... I know it might not seem like much, but sometimes they’re
embarrassed to tell mom and dad.”
In addition to coaching and mentoring troubled kids, Toledo and his wife are also foster parents.
Currently, the couple has two foster children in addition to their other three sons.
In some ways, Toldeo parents like a coach, saying he definitely doesn’t like quitters.
“You know, it’s easy to quit, but it’s harder not to quit anything. I instill that in my kids now.
“If you quit a game, if you quit at sports, you quit anything you start, it’s easy to do that. It becomes a
habit and that’s a bad habit to pick up,” Toledo said.

2. He passes the following advice to those young people he hopes to inspire to make a positive impact
themselves:
“So the advice I give to the kids is never stop trying and always reach your full potential. Don’t settle.
You know what potential is? It is a talent not yet seen.”