Raising The Bar

Valley Morning Star, Harlingen, Texas, Slice Of Life Column: Raising The Bar: Jesse Sauceda
April 05, 2009

By Fernando Del Valle, Valley Morning Star, Harlingen, Texas

Apr. 5–Jesse Sauceda bet his mane on his chess teams.

If his two teams qualified for the national championships, he’d cut off his shoulder-length hair, he said.

This weekend, Sauceda sported a buzz cut when he traveled to the national tournament in Nashville, Tenn., with his two teams of players from Dr. Cash Elementary School.

For his teams, winning’s about ganas, Sauceda said.

Last month, his chess team made up of fourth and fifth graders tied for the Texas state championship.

This weekend, the two teams battled the country’s top chess players at the nationals.

“This year, it’s been all about ganas — desire,” Sauceda said.

In 2006, Sauceda took over as chess coach after helping his son Jestin’s team the year before.

“I knew how to play chess but I didn’t really know how to coach it,” said Sauceda, who used to coach a baseball team. “So I went out and got some books.”

Then he turned to his old coaching days for help.

“I started bringing my sports-minded thinking to class,” he said.

Soon, he was building the foundations of a championship team.

In 2008, he helped his team of fourth and fifth graders win the regional championship against rivals like Brownsville’s squad.

“It helped validate our progress because Brownsville is the powerhouse — Brownsville sets the bar,” Sauceda said.

Last month, his team tied the team at Ed Downs Elementary for the state championship at a tournament hosted by the San Benito school district — the first state tournament held in the Rio Grande Valley.

“I couldn’t have been more proud,” he said. “I admire them so much.”

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