Senior Andre Bahena will continue his educational and athletic journey at Cañada College in Redwood City this fall for soccer as a center forward, he said.
Senior Hugo Ybarra will also be committing as a goalkeeper, he said. For Ybarra, Cañada offered a good injury rehabilitation process and recruited him despite his recent leg surgery, he added.
“A month ago, I tore my meniscus; I had to get surgery for it,” Ybarra said. “Once I started telling (college) coaches that I’m going to be hurt and unable to play my freshman season, a lot of them said, ‘Sorry to hear that, but I don’t know if this is the right spot for you.’”
Ybarra continued to search for schools when Cañada College reached out to him, he said. Cañada’s coaches said they would take Ybarra with his injury and help him through the process, he added.
“I really like the coaches,” Ybarra said. “They’re really trying to get the best out of me, so with the support combined with the facilities, it’s just the best fit for me.”
As for his education, Ybarra will be majoring in business administration and plans to transfer to a University of California or out-of-state four-year university, he said. He also plans to work while pursuing his education and soccer at Cañada College, he added.
“I definitely plan to coach soccer to younger kids while in college to give back to the community and help other kids who want to be a goalie the way I did,” Ybarra said.
Bahena will also be majoring in business and admires how the Cañada College coach prioritizes students transferring to four-year universities after two years of community college, he said.
“Among the other coaches I talked to, he was the first coach that prioritized us transferring to a better, higher school,” Bahena said. “He prioritized all students having a 3.2 or higher GPA and the whole team seemed very structured and disciplined.”
For soccer, Bahena’s goal is to transfer to any school with a Division I (D1) soccer team, he said.
“I want to keep pursuing soccer; maybe not here, maybe out of state or out of the country, but I want to pursue D1 soccer first,” Bahena said.
While at Cañada College, Bahena will work at the Stanford University cafeteria, which is a 20-minute drive from Cañada College.
“I’ll probably work there for the two years,” Bahena said. “It’s like catering in the cafeteria where the students eat. It involves changing plates, putting the food out, stuff like that.”
Ybarra feels more comfortable knowing that he will have a friend from high school at Cañada College.
“It’s definitely a relief,” Ybarra said. “Obviously, it’s nice to go meet new people, but just having those familiar faces is a good thing.”
Jason Jattan, the assistant coach for both Milpitas and Cañada’s soccer teams, helped Bahena and Ybarra with the recruiting process, Jattan said. Jattan also attended Cañada College out of high school and admires the college’s unique goals, he added.
“The facilities are top notch and the support system for education is really good,” Jattan said. “We’ve turned a lot of 2.8-GPA students into 3.6 GPAs, which opens up opportunities for university and playing soccer at the four-year level.”
Cañada College transferred out almost every sophomore the past year through academics or an athletic scholarship, Jattan said. He will be helping Bahena and Ybarra through the whole process up until transferring to another university, he added.
“I’m excited for both of their futures,” Jattan said.