Gomez is going places

Mario Gomez is an achiever.

Without the benefit of country club connections or influential family friends, he is taking a life path via the efforts of initiative, hard work and the value his skills add.

Currently the Director of Operations for Coach Justin Labagh at City College of San Francisco, Gomez came out of San Ramon Valley High with a background of playing football. The gridiron sport was his love and back then he envisioned working in some professional pigskin capacity. At least that was the dream.

But sometimes something that proves even more enticing appears and a course correction of sorts is required.

What are the bonafides Gomez brings?

First, two years as a student basketball manager at CCSF followed by a year as a Texas Tech hoops student manager and now his present position. Soon he'll be finishing up his academics at San Francisco State with a degree on recreation administration.

How did he land his initial position?

"The way I found out about the CCSF student manager position was because I used to take BART to school and when I would go to class, I would have to walk through the wellness center lobby to get there and the advertisement was on the gym door. "

Thus began his behind-the-scenes athletic involvement with the roundball.

One amusing anecdote he recalls is running around during practice at Texas Tech and Coach Pat Knight stopped the activity, pointed to Gomez and said, "this guy is outhustling you guys."

Gomez takes inspiration from a number of basketball coaches.

Current Brooklyn Nets Assistant Coach Lawrence Frank didn't play in high school. However, the two-time NBA head coach worked as a student manager at Indiana for Bob Knight. Joe Pasternack, now an associate head coach at Arizona, was also a four year student manager at Indiana although he did play prep ball.

So the road to the different levels of basketball employment don't necessarily require having participated in college hoops.

As for the future, Gomez offered, "I hope to stay in basketball. I'd like to work at a major school in the Pac 12 or the West Coast Conference." He's noticed that both California and Stanford have intern positions associated with their men's hoops teams.

Plus, as the CCSF Director of Basketball Operations and also by working the college coach entrance at many of Gerry Freitas' basketball recruiting events, Gomez has gotten to know Rex Walters, Mike Montgomery, Herb Sendek, Dave Rose, Sean Miller, Ron Verlin and many others.

"I know what it takes to work at a DI level."

Gomez has also branched out in keeping football as an employment possibility.He has worked minicamps and OTAs (Organized Training Activities) with the Oakland Raiders and is soon heading off to an internship with the Arizona Cardinals.  

The article would be incomplete without detailing a basketball version of the six degrees of Kevin Bacon separation element. Brad Duggan, the longtime CCSF coach and athletic director is longtime friends with Bob Knight. Justin Labagh was a CCSF assistant to Harry Pantazopolous while a senior at Cal and Labagh later interned with Knight when the latter was coaching at Texas Tech. Then Gomez became the student manager for Coach Pat Knight while in Lubbock.

It's a small world and Gomez is earning his rightful spot.