Trading in the cleats for gardening beets

From the gridiron to gardening

Marissa Nall Roundup Reporter

With the season over, most football players take the time to relax and work on their game for the upcoming season. You do not expect to see them working on a field during the hot California summers. But that’s where football player Akeem Gonzales spent a recent Saturday, working toward a degree in horticulture.

Gonzales came to Pierce this semester after transferring from Oregon State University. Restrictive requirements would have kept him from changing his major to horticulture and lost him his scholarship.

“I made my decision to leave because it wasn’t what I wanted,” said Gonzales, who is not eligible to play at Pierce due to his previous involvement with a Division 1 institution. “Just football in general, the way they sell it to you coming out of high school, it’s really not what people think. You’re like a commodity.”

Gonzales still works out with the football team to stay in shape and network with other coaches and players. However, his main focus, he says, is on his grades and education.

“I just look at it, there’s enough athletes and stuff like that. We need people to come out and help the community,” Gonzales said. “Growing food is just like printing money. If you can grow food you can help people out.”

From Pierce, Gonzales would like to transfer to another U.C. and is working with his professors to find out which ones have the best programs for his needs.

He cites Dr. Shapiro, Department chair of Agriculture and Natural Resources, as his main source of support and information, helping him get the prerequisites and classes he needed for the program.

“When school started, I had everything that I needed and was right back on track,” Gonzales said.

Len Markowitz, adjunct professor for the landscape and horticulture classes, ran the ongoing rose garden project as part of his Plant Sciences 896 class and commented on Gonzales’ work ethic.

The Brahmas’ softball team lost both games of a doubleheader against Santa Barbara after Pierce third baseman Rose Alcala got struck by a line drive on March 11.

After the injury the Brahmas did not have enough players to play in the rest of the games.

Pierce is now 0-8, have only scored 11 runs combined during their season and have not completed a full game losing by either mercy rule or forfeit.

The Brahmas go on the road to play Cuesta looking for their first win of the season.

The games starts at 2:30 p.m.

The men’s volleyball team continue to struggle. In the last three games they have only won three sets.

The last time the volleyball team was on Feb. 28 against Santa Barbara in a game that was tightly contested.

The Brahmas are 1-5 at home and 3-3 on the road.

The men’s volleyball will need to pick up the intensity if they wish to beat LA TradeTech, who currently are on a nine game losing streak.

The game will be played at Pierce College and is schedued to begin at 6 p.m.