Facilities Services Custodial Superintendent Leebo Pomele oversees all custodial operations for Mission Bay and the outlying areas stretching from Oyster Point to UCOP. Leebo knew he wanted to be a coach since he was in college, long before he became a “boy dad” of five sons. We asked him about coaching his son’s football team, what makes a good coach and what he’s thankful for this holiday season.
Tell us about your path to coaching.
I coach my son's football team. As a dad, I work a lot. My commute is five or six hours a day, depending on traffic, and coaching gives me an opportunity to spend more time with my boys. Two of them play in a Central Valley youth football league. I grew up playing sports and played football through high school and on a scholarship in college. After I graduated, I knew at some point I would want to coach. It just worked out that I have five sons, and my two older sons love football. I've never tried to force it on them. I just wanted to keep them active. I love coaching them and watching them train. This season was really cool because both of my sons’ teams went undefeated, 12-0 and finished as champions.
What makes a good coach?
I was very fortunate to have good mentors and coaches as a kid playing sports. Football taught me a lot of lessons I apply even to my everyday life. One of the things about football is that you have a team of players, and everyone has a specific role. If everyone does their job, it leads to the overall success of the team. That's how I translate my sports experience into my work life, to support the goals of our team. Football has always been more than a game to me, it’s taught me many life lessons. For example, when you are building a team, it requires building up people and those relationships you build with people help you become successful.
What are you grateful for this holiday season?
My wife Sabrina. Being a mom of five boys it takes a lot of time and patience, especially during football season. We are often out on the field training four to five times a week and then we have our games on Saturday. On game days we usually get to the field around 10am to help set up the field and help kids with their equipment, then get home as late as 10pm on Saturday nights. That’s a lot of sacrifice, on top of how often I’m gone for work. Her support has been vital to my career development as I would not be able to do what I’m doing or be who I am without her continuous support.
