Aug. 17, 2020
 
Dear Cal Fans,
 
Welcome back to Kaleo's Korner. 
 
By now, many of you have likely heard that the Pac-12 has postponed all sport competition through the end of the 2020 calendar year. In this entry, I'm hoping to answer some of the questions you might have about what this decision means for us fall student-athletes going forward. But first, I want to tell you a little about these last couple weeks for our team prior to the Pac-12 announcement.
 
Midway through July, many of us were making our ways back to Berkeley to begin preparing more intensely for the fall. We had spent months at home away from our sport and regular training routines, so we were both excited and apprehensive to get going again. At this point, we were still not allowed to gather in groups in order to start training as a team, but we kept high hopes that we would all be able to come back together soon. In the meantime, we were exercising at our respective living situations in Berkeley, and pretty much doing the best we could with what we had at the time.
 
Toward the end of July, we were asked to self-quarantine in our living situations for two weeks. Across those two weeks, we were tested for COVID-19 twice both by swab and by blood draw, and we had our preseason physicals done. We also had regular Zoom meetings updating us about the various sets of protocols we would need to follow moving forward, and about the prospects of our season happening in some form during the fall. Some days, we would come out of those Zoom meetings feeling really good about our chances to play. Other days, we would walk away feeling just the opposite. Personally, I tried not to worry too much about the various shifts in our chances over those few weeks. Instead, I opted to stay focused on the day-to-day things I felt that I needed to do in order to best prepare myself just in case we had been able to play. Even still, the back and forth nature of the updates we got during this time was a rollercoaster for me, and I think it was the same for everyone involved. While we had our hopes, all the while we knew that the circumstances holding together our chances for playing during the fall were fragile, and that the situation regarding COVID in our country was not improving.
 
The morning of the day before the Pac-12's announcement, I checked the news to see that there were rumors that fall sports would be postponed until the spring. I called several mentors of mine within the Cal Athletics Department to ask them their opinions. The next day, I went to a field in my neighborhood with a few of my teammates/housemates to play pick-up soccer. Halfway through our game, one of us checked his phone and gave the others the news that fall sports had officially been postponed. We paused for a bit, and then decided to finish our game before we went home to call all of the people we needed to talk to.
 
Since the Pac-12's announcement, we have taken some space to ourselves to process the last month or so - and furthermore, the last six months. At this point, everyone has made sacrifices due to this pandemic. Although we are saddened that we won't be able to enjoy our season this fall, in light of the bigger picture, we know that for many reasons we are among the fortunate ones in the midst of this crisis. Now, we are tasked with the objective to make the most out of a new set of circumstances - to find new opportunities where unexpected space has opened up in each of our lives. In addition, we are looking to the next time we get to step on the field with humility and determination. We know very well now not to take for granted the time we get playing the sports we love.
 
That's all for now. Thanks for checking out Kaleo's Korner. Until next time, Go Bears!
 
Sincerely,
 
Kaleo Fernandez


June 8, 2020

Dear Cal Fans,

Welcome back to Kaleo's Korner. 

First, I want to extend to you all my sincerest regards. I acknowledge that current events affect each of us in different and often disproportionate ways. However, at least to some degree, I think everyone is struggling during these stressful circumstances. In my own way, I am, too. Despite the uniqueness of each of our experiences, or rather, because of it, I believe we are all in this together. I hope you all are finding ways to maintain at least some sense of balance in your lives.

I've decided to begin writing to you all again to tell you about my experience as a student-athlete approaching what we expect to be a very unusual fall season. I also want to share with you the various ways I am coping with and learning from current events. I hope this portion of Kaleo's Korner will be both interesting and useful for you as you navigate the present moment.

Since we started distance learning, our team has been meeting a couple times a week over Zoom to hear from different alumni speakers about their post-Cal lives, and to talk about what things will look like for us going forward. As you might expect, there is still a lot of uncertainty. In light of that uncertainty, my personal approach has been to cater to the balance between taking information as it comes and preparing for various possible future circumstances.

Keeping balanced for me has involved integrally staying informed and engaged. A big part of that has been actively and deliberately turning toward difficult emotions. I have made it a point to give myself space to process and reflect on my own humanity and the humanity of others. For me, this has entailed meditation (shoutout to Lucas Churchill, our team guru), reading, going for walks and having long conversations with friends over the phone - often times more vulnerable ones than we would have normally had before quarantine. I am also taking summer classes in journalism to educate myself about the public information space. 

In support of the Black Lives Matter movement, I have also decided to engage more actively with social media, and I have gone out to protest. I realize people have different views about the movement, and everyone has different comfort levels with respect to how much they want to engage. I would encourage readers to think deeply about their personal stance, whatever it may be, and not to shy away from conversation and disagreement about the issue. I hope that, whatever we believe, at least we can all agree that this is an important time to talk to each other. I believe that this is a valuable opportunity for us all to learn to contribute our voices to the public sphere.

As we learn more about our preseason schedule and constraints, I look forward to talking to you all again. In the meantime, stay active, stay safe and stay human.

Thanks for checking out Kaleo's Korner. Until next time, Go Bears!

Sincerely,

Kaleo Fernandez
Nov. 6, 2019

Dear Cal Fans,
 
Welcome back to Kaleo's Korner! This past week, we played what was, in my opinion, the most exciting game of the season so far against UCLA at home on Halloween. After the result of our first game against UCLA away at their place a couple weeks ago, we expected that this game would be a close contest - but I don't think anyone would have predicted what ended up happening. 
 
UCLA scored first, and then our center forward, Thomas Williamson, responded with a cheeky penalty kick, chipping it down the middle of the goal to tie the game. UCLA scored again, and again, Thomas Williamson picked up the ball at the top of the box, shook a defender, and curled it back post to make things equal. When the countdown to signal the last 10 seconds of the game began, we were down 2-3 and earned a corner on the right side of the field. Our left winger, Alonzo Del Mundo, managed to get the ball down and whip in a brilliant inswinging cross to the near post. The ball went to our right back, Simon Lekressner, who headed it home with conviction to tie the game yet again in the last three seconds of regular time. The crowd went wild and the bench rushed the field in celebration. Then, after things settled down, the game went through double overtime to end 3-3 as the evening sun set on Edwards Stadium. Although at the end of the day we didn't end up getting a win, it was a great game to be a part of and a memory that will last, for some of us, for the rest of our lives. 
 

On Sunday before our game against SDSU, we had our Senior Ceremony for our graduating seniors. As a teammate and friend, it was bittersweet for me to watch each of the seniors walk out to center field, and to listen to the accolades that each of them have earned during their time here announced over the loudspeaker. These guys have been some of my closest friends for the past three years. In addition to setting an example for me and the rest of the younger guys in the locker room and on the field, these guys have taught us a lot about how to thrive in life outside of soccer, both in Berkeley and beyond. They have shed blood, sweat and tears for our team and this program, and in the process, they have given us life-long memories - like Simon's goal to take us into overtime just a few days prior.
 
Sometimes, in an environment like Berkeley's, life can seem to move quickly, and chances to reflect are minimal. But in moments like these, things have a funny way of slowing down, and the important things shine through. We (likely) have three more games left in the season – the last three games our seniors will play for Cal before they move on to the next chapter in their lives. We intend to make the most out of them. 
 
Thanks for checking out Kaleo's Korner, and thank you seniors! Until next time, Go Bears!
 
Sincerely,

Kaleo Fernandez

Sept. 19, 2019

Dear Cal Fans,

Welcome back to Kaleo's Korner! A lot has changed since I last wrote to you. In the past two weeks, we've played three important games, and the school year has accelerated into full motion. Now, we are preparing to play Stanford at Edwards this Friday in our first Pac-12 game of the season. Let's pick up where we last left off.

We were very happy to be successful on our first away trip at UC Santa Barbara last weekend. The atmosphere in the stadium and under the lights on the night of the game was inspiring. We were excited to step onto the field at kick off, and proud to get back on the bus after the final whistle with a convincing win. We felt accomplished on our drive back to Berkeley after having achieved our goal for the weekend.

Our next opponent was American University. Against American, we were glad to create a high number of goal-scoring opportunities throughout the game while also having a good portion of the ball. We took pride in keeping another team off the score sheets, and we enjoyed scoring a couple goals ourselves. We were confident going into our next game against Denver after having put together two complete matches consecutively. 

Despite our expectations of ourselves, the game against Denver did not go our way. Although we created chances throughout the game, the score sheet did not favor us when all was said and done. Adversity is a part of sports. In the event of a loss, there is always a lesson to be learned. Now, we take that lesson with us as we move forward into the conference and continue to improve the quality of our execution.  

At training and throughout the course of each day in the week leading up to a game against Stanford, there is a sense of the history of the rivalry between us and them that is unique compared to other weeks of preparation. Each of us knows that the history between our schools makes the stakes of this game different from the rest. As players, these are the games that we live for. We dream of the moment when the first whistle blows at the beginning of the game to let us off our reins and into the competition. We are honored to represent California on Friday, and we approach that responsibility with pride and enthusiasm. Our focus is locked, and we couldn't be more excited. 

Thanks for checking out Kaleo's Korner! Until next time, Go Bears!

Sincerely, 

Kaleo Fernandez


Sept. 6, 2019

Dear Cal Fans,

Welcome to Kaleo's Korner! First, let me introduce myself. My name is Kaleo Fernandez and I wear the number twenty-five jersey for Cal Men's Soccer. This season, I'll be writing to you every couple of weeks to keep you updated about the team, our season and the school year. Let's get started. 

Last week was a big week for us. School started, we won our season opener against Omaha, and we also went to double overtime against UC Irvine to tie at home. To really understand what this past week has meant for us, let me take you through our preparation for these events over the past two months. 

For most students on campus, the year started this past week. But for us, the year started back in early July at the beginning of, what we call, Captain's Camp. Captain's Camp is a period of about four weeks before preseason where us players get together to run, lift and train on our own without the coaching staff present (with the exception of our strength trainer, Coach Dave Ziemba). It is during this time that we get back into our habits and routines before the coaches return and our official preseason gets going. Some of us also take summer classes during this time to lighten the load of school work during the fall season. 

After Captain's Camp, we went down to preseason camp in Pomona where we played two preseason games against Grand Canyon University and Cal State Fullerton. In Pomona, we got into double days to work more on our fitness, and we also established our expectations of ourselves as a team on and off the field. This was a fun week for us because we got to spend a lot of time together off the field before we got busy with our classes and other responsibilities during the school year. 

Finally, we came back up to Berkeley for another preseason game against San Jose State and a week of nothing but soccer and rest. We wrapped up our preseason with three wins and good momentum heading into the first game of the season and the start of the school year. We set ourselves a high standard moving forward, and we intend to maintain that standard each day in training and in games as the year continues to progress. 

So, like I said, this last week was important for us. We've been anticipating this part of the year for several months now, so we were excited to hear the whistle blow in our first regular-season game to signal the start of fall competition. We were proud to start the season with a win against Omaha, and to grind out a tie against Irvine through double overtime. 

This weekend, we travel to UC Santa Barbara to play them at their place. Our focus is locked and all eyes are set on the prize. We appreciate each day we get wearing the California jersey. On behalf of our team and speaking to our friends, family members, and all other California fans, we thank you for your love and support. 

Thanks for checking out Kaleo's Korner. Until next time, Go Bears!

Sincerely,

Kaleo Fernandez