Acceptance Is: Embracing Your Potential

Meet Coach Anthony White

At 5:00 a.m. on any given weekday, even the most dedicated student-athletes are still sound asleep.  

Growing up in working-class East L.A. County, Anthony White didn’t have that luxury.  

Every day before sunrise, he would grab his backpack and head to Rosemead High School – not for class, but for his job. 

He was employed by the local school district to clean the boys’ and girls’ locker rooms and gymnasium – the very same facilities he used every day as a varsity athlete. 

It was a responsibility steeped in humility for young Anthony, who was captain of the football team, four-year captain of the track team, and a basketball player. 

“By 7:00, I would act like I had just gotten to school because, at the time, I was embarrassed to tell my friends I cleaned the bathrooms because our family needed the money,” he explained. “We’d try to shoot baskets into the trash can. And someone would miss, and I remember thinking, ‘Man, you better pick that up because if not, I’m gonna have to pick it up tomorrow.’” 

It’s also a responsibility he embraced because of mentors who helped remind him of his full potential. 

“Growing up in the neighborhood I grew up in, there were so many people that pushed me to become greater than what they would’ve done, or should’ve done, or could’ve done if they had the same opportunities as me,” said Coach White. 

Early on, he began giving back through sports, starting with his own family. 

“I had two younger brothers and a younger sister, so I worked a lot with them coaching their teams with various youth organizations,” said Coach White. 

Today, as the head football coach at Santa Ana College, he knows his most important responsibility is to help his athletes accept themselves while also pushing their limits. 

“Finding potential in others is my number one job as a coach,” he said. “You have to see what that student-athlete can become, both on and off the field.” 

And it’s his priorities off the field that matter most to Coach Anthony White. 

“I was a very successful high school coach, won the championship, did a good job, and then cold turkey stopped coaching,” said Anthony. “And that’s because my daughter was born. A lot of people ask, why did you step down? And I tell them I didn’t step down. I stepped up to be the best husband and the best father I could be.” 

It took 21 years for Coach White to meet his own father, who reached out after watching Anthony on ESPN. 

“Finding potential in others is my number one job as a coach, you have to see what that student-athlete can become, both on and off the field.”