For many sports fans out there, that first time attending a professional sporting event is an experience that stays with you. It’s not so much the result of the match that occurred, but more so the feeling that comes with the result. The sound of thousands of voices electrifying the environment, the way the stadium appears larger than the playing field of a child, and the minute-to-minute suspense leading up to the big moment are all aspects that seem to spark and accumulate to an extraordinary experience.
For some students and teachers at Palo Alto High School, that same spark sets them on different paths, all rooted in a shared origin: their first professional sporting event, an experience that opened their eyes to a world of sports far beyond anything they had known before. Physical Education teacher and long-time basketball coach Peter Diepenbrock describes his memory going back to his first ever childhood and Giants game that he attended with his dad.
“When I was a kid, my dad took me to a Giants game,” Diepenbrock said. “We didn’t go that often, but it was just a really memorable experience. Watching that first pro game showed me how exciting sports moments can be.”
For an aspiring athlete, the excitement of entering a professional stadium can be an incredible feeling that would stay with you for the rest of your life. Specifically, the size, the larger-than-life players and the feeling that every play is crucial. The introduction to professional sports was the catalyst for what would become a lifelong relationship for Diepenbrock, and that relationship continued to grow for the young man as he transitioned from watching the Warriors play basketball to playing the game himself. It was not just the game that was important; it was the opportunity to learn about the game on a level that he hadn’t experienced before.
“I just always really enjoyed the game and the strategy behind it,” Diepenbrock said.
And that curiosity was evident from an early age. While most kids were focused on the reps and the drills in the high school hallways, Diepenbrock was more focused on the system his coaches were teaching.
“I remember my coach asking questions, and I would be the first to answer,” Diepenbrock said. “My teammates even started calling me Coach Diepenbrock even back then.”
Diepenbrock was very interested in the strategic aspect of basketball, noting he was fascinated in his high school coach’s ally of attack. Watching professional basketball games would only increase his interest in the strategic side of the game.
That spark that he had from adolescence eventually led him into a long-lasting career. His first opportunity came in 1987, when he was given a real chance to coach basketball in Copenhagen, Denmark.
“I remember after a few days of coaching thinking, ‘Yeah, this is what I want to do for the rest of my life,’” Diepenbrock said.
From that point forward, coaching became his focus. He developed a new coaching style over the years that suited him and the game he understood. For many basketball coaches, the focus is on the offensive side. For Diepenbrock, his focus has always been on the defensive side.
“Defense is very black and white,” Diepenbrock said. “You’re supposed to be here, you’re supposed to do this. It’s very structured.”
Diepenbrock has built his career around defense and made it a key part of his teams.
For Diepenbrock, one defining period in his coaching career came in 2011 at Kenyon Junior College, when he felt a deep sense of pride in his team and their performance.
“For the first time in my life, I coached a team that played half-court basketball exactly the way I wanted them to,” Diepenbrock said. “That team just stood out to me. That was the first time I felt like our offense was clicking just like I wanted it to.”
The coaching road he was on eventually led him to Palo Alto High School, but it all began as a young fan at his first professional game. Events like these may not mean much at the time, but they can lead to something much greater. At Palo Alto High School today, inspiration can still also be found by some of its students.
For soccer player and junior Koji Silverberg, it was his first professional soccer game that set the pathway for his love for soccer. The match was a UEFA Champions League match featuring Barcelona vs. Borussia Dortmund in the 2019–2020 season at Camp Nou Stadium, one of the world’s largest venues. Walking into a venue like Camp Nou as a young athlete is like nothing else. The venue has a seating capacity of nearly 100,000 people, and when that crowd erupts together, it is an overwhelming feeling that could only be understood if you were someone attending.
“Being at Camp Nou was unforgettable,” said Silverberg. “The crowd was so loud, and seeing the players live made the whole game feel way more real. Most of Barca’s team inspired me because of how smooth they played, but Messi in particular.”
Not all inspiration from sports comes from playing. Some people stay involved in many different ways.
For junior Jonny Chen, the majority of his spark came from his experience with sports photography. His first real pro game experience was at an NBA G League game for the Santa Cruz Warriors. The game was between S.C and the Oklahoma City Blue. Even though the G League is considered the step before the NBA, the experience Jonny had at that arena certainly left a mark.
“The atmosphere was incredible,” Chen said. “The crowd was loud, and every possession mattered.”
From the moment the game started, his perception about sports was forever changed. He sat in the upper seats to watch and observe the game. While doing so, he realized that it wasn’t about the scoreboard anymore, but the reactions of everyone around the court: players high-fiving, coaches calling plays and the crowd going wild on every big play.
“When you’re watching a game while shooting, you realize how fast everything is happening,” Chen said. “There are countless small moments that stack up to one big play.”
In sports photography, there is an element of anticipating where the action is going to swing and placing yourself in position to capture the exact moment at the exact second. Chen feels that his experience playing multiple sports helps him anticipate the flow of the game.
“Because I used to play a lot, I can usually predict where the play might go next,” Chen said.
One of Chen’s favorite photos was taken during a Paly-Gunn rivalry game. At the end of the game, Paly’s junior guard Ben Laris made a clutch three-pointer to give Palo Alto the slight lead over Gunn. Jonny was able to catch the exact moment that the ball went through the hoop.
“Everyone in the crowd was wearing green and waving three signs,” Chen said. “It was a really cool moment to capture.”
Not all sports fans are athletes. For some, their passion is fueled by the arena or the environment surrounding the game. This was Theodore Williams, a Paly sophomore who walked into the football program a year ago and quickly realized that it was not his path. He didn’t, however, walk away from the program. He found a way to stay involved, even if it was in a different role.
“I chose to help record the games because I wanted to stay in the program even without playing,” Williams said.
Now, on Friday nights, Williams is stationed in the press box above the field, capturing every moment of both junior varsity and varsity games. After every game, he sends the footage to the coaching staff so that they can review it and prepare for the next week.
Williams’ love of sports goes back even further than this. At a baseball playoff game in Arizona, he had a defining moment. He went to the National League Wild Card game in 2017 between the Diamondbacks and Rockies at Chase Field in Phoenix, Arizona.
“It was my first playoff game, and the energy was incredible,” Williams said. “It was amazing to root for the hometown team and see them win on a big stage.”
This experience did not lead Williams to his current football recording job, but it reinforced the idea that sports give people the chance to feel connected to something larger than themselves.
Then there is Paly English teacher David Dodd, whose first professional sports memory goes back even further. In kindergarten, his dad surprised him with Giants tickets to a Giants vs. Dodgers game.
“He walked in and said, ‘Hey, I’ve got Giants tickets,’” Dodd said.
Growing up, Dodd mostly knew baseball through collecting cards. Seeing the field in person was different from what he expected.
“The field’s measurements didn’t line up with what I pictured,” Dodd said. “I remember the ballpark feeling really big. And I remember it being really cold.”
That season was also happening around the same time of one of baseball’s most legendary achievements. The San Francisco Giants’ star player, Barry Bonds, had just broken the single-season home run record with 73.
“[Bonds] was definitely the cool kid in my eyes when I was growing up,” Dodd said.
Though he cannot point to any single game as the catalyst for his love of sports, it is undeniable that the game played a significant role.
“I don’t think it was the one event that hooked me,” Dodd said. “But it sure sped up the process.”
Even today, Dodd is still heavily involved in sports. He is also reminded of where it all started because he lives a short walk from the Giants’ stadium.
Through all of these events, however, there is one thing that can be said: while the first game may only last a few hours, the impact of the event can last a lifetime. Though the exact route may be different for each of the people involved, the first game is often the start of a much longer journey.
“Long after the crowd has gone home and the lights have dimmed at the ballpark or the gymnasium, the memory of the first game will stay with the people who were in the stands.” Dodd said.
