Teamwork and culture have been a major focal point for City College baseball head coach Derek Sullivan, who says he’s always looking for student athletes like 19-year-old Polo Portela to make the team strong.
Baseball has been a part of Portela’s life for the last 10 years, and his link to the City College baseball program goes back to his days of playing high school ball.
He started receiving independent pitching help from City College’s pitching coach Deskaheh Bomberry, while Portela was still attending Grant High School. Portela believes the help from Bomberry made the transition from playing high school baseball to college baseball much easier.
“That throwing program helped me a lot, and when I got here, the throwing program was easy for me. I was prepared,” Portela said.
Portela credits his uncle and head coach of the Grant High School baseball team, Danny Chavez, for pushing him into baseball. Chavez played for City College in 1990 and has been coaching Portela since T-ball.
“I am really proud of [my nephew],” said Chavez. “It’s a mirror image of how hard [Polo] worked.”
Portela said his father is also a driving force, always pushing him and reminding him that he can always do better. He said his father believes transferring to a four-year university is the “big goal.”
Portela said he has his eyes on USC or North Carolina, two Division 1 programs. However, the self-proclaimed mama’s boy added that going out of state would be tough for him and his family, that his mom in particular would be sad to see him go.
For now his family can watch him play for the Panthers at Union Stadium. Portela said the attention from coach Bomberry and watching the Panthers was a big part of his decision to come to City College.
“Portela’s a good player, and he’s always been on our radar,” Sullivan said.
He leads the Panthers pitching staff with 26 strikeouts and a 0.98 earned run average. According to CCCAA.org, Portela has the ninth lowest ERA among all California community college pitchers.
Those kinds of statistics are what propel athletes to the next level. Sullivan believes that community college athletic programs make good stepping stones before going to four-year schools.
Portela is confident that City College is preparing him for the next level by helping him learn to work better as a teammate. He says the “team culture” that City College coaches instill in their student athletes has been a positive influence in his life.
“It’s a great experience to see a bunch of guys come together as one team. I was never a part of that,” Portela said.
The players compete among themselves by seeing who has the fastest run times and who can lift the most weight. According to Portela, the healthy competition is important to growing as a team.
“We’re always pushing each other — that’s for sure — and if you’re doing something wrong, they’ll let you know for sure,” Portela said.
Portela, who is majoring in criminal justice, said he finds forensic sciences fascinating. He said his love for criminal justice began in high school and believes that the unity associated with baseball will ultimately help him with a career in criminal justice.
“Baseball gives me focus for sure,” Portela said. “Learning to work as a team is important.”
Sullivan agreed, adding, “The strength of our team is our flexibility, the commitment for all of our guys. They just want to win. They’re willing to do whatever to takes for our group to win. I have not seen much, if any, individualism. They’re here to win, and we need to win, and we are all really happy. That’s been outstanding with this club so far.”
Portela thinks his first season with the Panthers will be one to remember.
“The team this year is [going to] be a great team. Hopefully, we can bring home a state championship,” Portela said. “That’s the goal.”
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