Coach Cheung guides students on campus and on basketball court
Manteca High counselor Wayne Cheung.
By GABRIEL SHAVER
The Tower
When you think of a role model, who do you think of? Some may think of a famous person, or maybe a parental figure, but I think of the name Wayne Cheung.
Wayne Cheung is a high school basketball coach and counselor at Manteca High School, who motivates student athletes and helps give students their desired classes for the school year.
Mateo Gonzalez is a guard on the JV basketball team, which is 4-3 in the league and 9-12 overall. Gonzalez credits Cheung for helping him focus on the details of the game.
“Mr. Cheung has had a big impact on my game by helping me improve every single little detail I need to get better, especially to play at the next level,” Gonzalez said.
The personal growth is what drives Cheung as a coach and counselor.
“Seeing students start as freshmen and grow up and see how successful they are becoming is why I want to be a counselor,” said Cheung.
Cheung has been a counselor for four years and is determined to help students get a sense of direction in their possible future careers after high school.
Cheung attended East Union during his high school years, hating the Buffaloes due to their rivalry, but came to work for Manteca High, putting aside the past feelings towards the school.
The Tower interviewed Cheung about a balancing career with coaching and adjusting to being a Buffalo after a lifetime as a Lancer.
The Tower: How do you balance being both a coach and counselor?
Wayne Cheung: Like, you got to separate a lot of different things. Um, you always want to be great at both. So, when it comes to, like, a counselor, so when I clock in at 8:00 AM all the way until 4:00 PM, I'm just all counselor and after that, um, since I'm so passionate about basketball, after 4:00 PM all the way until sometimes it could be like 10:00 PM or 11:00 PM game planning as a coach, um, after 4:00 PM after being a counselor, I'm all coach.
TT: How did you adjust from being a Lancer to then a Buffalo?
WC: I know, it's funny. Um, like, one, one time in my life, I've always hated the Buffaloes. Like, that was my biggest enemy. I coached East Union for three years, so I always have my pregame speeches like, the Buffaloes we got to push them off the ledge and all that stuff. But it's funny, when I started coaching here, then I had to do the reverse, so I always say, like, "The Lancers, you know, they're, they're not the strongest, you know? The Buffaloes will stampede.