Champagnat Catholic Kicks Through the Palm Trees to the State Championship
Champagnat Catholic High School is located in Hialeah, Florida, in the shadows of the bright lights of Miami. Founded in 1968, the school finally decided to start a football program in 2011. They became known as “The Lions” and were forced to participate as an independent for two seasons before officially joining the Florida High School Athletic Association (FHSAA) as a member of Class 2A.
The school consists of grades 6-12, with an enrollment of 170 total students. The football team draws from students in grades 9-12, consisting of just 130 students. Despite their small enrollment, having fielded a football program for 10 seasons, and despite a roster totaling 57 players, the Lions have been one of the most successful football programs in the state of Florida, having advanced to the Class 2A state championship contest six times, winning four of them.
That includes back-to-back state titles over the last two seasons under Champagnat Catholic head football coach Hector Clavijo. He started as an assistant coach in 2016 before taking over as the head coach in 2018. Under Clavijo, the Lions have advanced to the championship game each season, winning two titles, in 2019 and last season, in 2020. He also had a hand in one of their other state titles, in 2017, as assistant coach.
So, a team with multiple state championship appearances, with four state championship trophies… there’s got to be a shrine built for this head coach and these players, right? There must be a nice practice facility with a turf field upon which these elite champions continue to perfect their skills, right? How about that nice, air-conditioned weight room? Or, what about that nice stadium where thousands of fans flock to under the lights on Friday night to see their beloved Lions play like the champions they are, right?
Well, no. There’s none of that. No stadium. That’s correct. The team does not have a stadium of their own. Every game they play is actually an away game, played at their opponent’s home stadium.
No nice practice facility… unless you’re talking about the city park that the team uses. That’s right. As a private school, the team doesn’t receive any district or county-related assistance, so there are no football facilities that are provided by the school, so it’s up to Clavijo to find a place for his team to practice.
The team uses a city-maintained park called Seminole Park to practice each day. Because the park is open to the public, there’s no yard lines or markers, just good old grass, dirt, and a lot of standing water. Clavijo says the team just works around it.
“We just go to the corners of the park where we can find a dry spot,” he says.
It’s where players like Andres Borregales, the team’s kicker during the 2020 season, would practice his kickoffs and field goals. The only problem with that is the park has no field goal post. However, that didn’t stop the former Lions kicker from becoming the nation’s No.1 rated kicker by most recruiting services, like Kohl’s, as well as a heavily recruited All-American. He now kicks for the University of Miami Hurricanes. So, how does a kicker like Borregales practice kicking?
“We had him kick between two palm trees,” said Clavijo.
Yes, palm trees served as the goal posts for the top high school kicker in America. Clavijo said the palm trees also became a symbol for what the team had to work with – or without, as it may be. That’s why the 2019 state championship rings that the team earned for their third overall title bears two palm trees on the head of the ring, as a reminder of how this team won it all with humble surroundings.
“People want to see our championship rings, and they’ll ask about the palm trees,” said Clajivo.
So, they may not have a practice field or home stadium to call their own, but there is one thing the team has that they can call their own, and that’s their very own weight room… uh, sort of. It’s not a room at all. It’s a collection of weight stations covered by a shelter with no side walls.
Despite the team not having all the modern conveniences that most championship programs are accustomed to, Clavijo said his players are not fazed by it at all.
“It all starts with our kids understanding that this is all we have,” said Clavijo.
He also said that the players play with an edge due to their circumstances.
“Our kids kind of play with a chip on their shoulder, knowing the competition usually has better facilities than they do, so that really drives them to show everyone that they can still win championships without having the same amenities that the other teams have,” said Clavijo.
The head coach relies on volunteers, usually the parents, for assistants.
“It’s usually parents of the players who have played before and understand the game,” he said.
Whenever you hear that Champagnat Catholic has won another game, just remember, it’s the team with no stadium, no practice field, and no goal posts for their kicker to kick through. But who needs those things when you have the heart of a lion?
Written by: Phil Jones
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