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SIERRA VISTA — Coaching is something Medhat Abuhantash just fell into, not something he ever thought he’d be good at.
It was the last thing on his mind when he first came to the United States from the Middle East in 1985.
The boy who grew up kicking around a soccer ball in bare feet on a rock-outlined field made of sand came to the U.S. seeking an education.
Raised in Kuwait until he left for college at age 17, Abuhantash first sought his educational advancement in Jordan, where he spent a year majoring in chemistry.
 Buena High School soccer coach Medhat Abuhantash stands with his players recently on the Loveless Stadium field. (Mark Levy-Herald/Review) |
While he was there, he made the college soccer team, but didn’t follow through after his tryout.
“I just couldn’t balance that commitment,” he said.
Despite the fact that chemistry wasn’t holding his interest at the school, Abuhantash had promised his father before he left that he would make the best of his educational opportunities, which is why he wanted to keep his focus on his studies.
“Chemistry wasn’t for me,” he said. “I was really interested in political science.”
So he decided to go across the Atlantic, always keeping his promise to his father in mind. Abuhantash was lucky, because his younger brother was about to graduate from high school, and told his parents he was not planning to go to college, which allowed the family to help send Abuhantash to the United States.
“I didn’t speak a word of English,” he said. “When I got to Kennedy Airport, I was trying to find my luggage. I’m 18 years old and I had to ask someone where to find my bags, and all he could do was give me hand gestures to tell me where to go.”
Leaving his family wasn’t an easy choice, and Abuhantash never intended on making the U.S. his permanent home.
He wasn’t even sure for how long he would last.
He went to San Antonio College for a year and a half, where his teacher suggested watching cartoons to help him learn English. He finished his degree at St. Mary’s University, but he didn’t graduate with a major in political science.
Instead, he was ready to go into industrial engineering. He eventually took a job with a civil service program where he worked with the Red River Army Depot in Texarkana, Texas, for a year, then moved to New Jersey for the next year. The program made it possible for Abuhantash to complete his master’s degree in software engineering.
He had the choice to move to Oklahoma or Arizona after he completed his two years with the program, and when he saw the mountains in Sierra Vista, he fell in love with the area and relocated to Fort Huachuca in 1995.
“I saw the mountains and said, ‘This is not desert,’ ” he said. “Kuwait is desert.”
It was in Sierra Vista where Abuhantash met his wife, Jessica. The family now has three kids, Jordan, 10, Khaled, 9, and Soraya, who turns 6 in December.
Little Soraya isn’t following in her brothers’ or her father’s soccer footsteps. Instead, she puts her energy into gymnastics, and is just starting to get into golf.
Mom and dad are OK with that.
Abuhantash holds on to his Middle Eastern roots, even though he had to adapt quickly when he came to the U.S. He still speaks fluent Arabic and tries to teach his kids as much as he can.
“Our focus when we got married was family,” he said.
Family and soccer remain his passions today, really the only two things he keeps on his mind when he’s not on post or traveling for work.
He’s been grooming his 11-and-under soccer team since they were a 6-and-under team. Abuhantash plays on an adult team, the Premier, out of Nogales every Sunday. He leaves the house at 6 a.m. for an 8 a.m. game to be home by noon.
Over the winter during the week, he coaches the Buena boys soccer team.
Buena senior Ross Adeli said having a close connection with a coach, as many of the players do with Abuhantash, has been an asset in the team’s progression during the past three years. He said it also gives Abuhantash a bit more credibility for them to know he can still play.
“If there’s no connection, it’s really hard,” Adeli said. “And he shows us rather than just telling us how to do something.”
Abuhantash said his two sons have asked him why he didn’t play at a higher level when he came to the United States.
He reminds them that they wouldn’t be here if he had made that decision, and his life has turned out just the way he wanted it to, as a father and a coach.
“I wouldn’t trade it for anything,” he said. “The way you practice and the way you play is how you conduct yourself in life. It’s about building the characters of these boys. I learn from them a lot, too.”
He said coaching has, above all, taught him the most about patience.
“Buena was a challenge the first year, just because all the boys came in with different coaching philosophies,” he said. “Last year was challenging. This year, I think we have the right talent and the right chemistry.”
The Colts begin their season with the Brandon Bean Tournament this week.
The team’s first game is scheduled for Monday against Salpointe, then at home on Tuesday at 4:30 p.m. against Douglas.
Herald/Reivew sports reporter Liz Manring can be reached at 515-4682 or by e-mail at liz.manring@svherald.com.
A parent wrote on Nov 25, 2008 9:40 PM: