Photo: St. Bonaventure University
BY: MICHAEL PEPLINSKI AND KEGAN MCCALLUM, CONTRIBUTING WRITERS
Growing up in a Hispanic community in southern California, Francisco “Frank” Morales was dealt an unfavorable hand.
“When I was 12 years old, I was actually jumped into a gang, believe it or not,” said Morales. “They jump you in, the whole gamut, they even mark you, and that’s my marking from when I was 12.”
Morales has a tattoo of a cross on the inside of his left hand and said that it’s a reminder of where he’s from.
Morales’s coaching journey began in his junior year of high school.
“When I was a junior and senior I would go to the middle school to do my extra PE credit by teaching gym there,” Morales said. “Then I was coaching all the after-school sports like basketball, track, everything.”
Growing up in poverty and being surrounded by gangs, Morales did not see college as an option.
“I knew if I wanted to get out of the environment I was in, that I would have to do something else,” said Morales
Morales joined the army to be in an environment to learn, he said. Morales said he wanted to find a family through his peers in an environment that would put him on a path for success in life.
As a veteran of the United States Army, Morales came to St. Bonaventure University as a student in 2007 and helped create the Student Veterans of America chapter in 2011.
However, Morales said he did not want to be the face of the SVA, instead choosing Brian Boher, a younger Naval soldier, to be the leader of the program.
After Morales finished his master’s degree from Bona’s in 2013, Bonaventure brought him back to officially run the SVA in 2017.
Morales also coached the SBU’s club softball team for a couple of years, eventually being asked by head coach Mike Threehouse to join the Division I softball team as the wellness coach.
“Knowing my mentality and military service, coach Threehouse thought I could be someone who could be a positive influence on our young ladies that were here playing softball,” said Morales. “He asked me to jump on board as the mental health coach, but we just call it the wellness coach.”
Treehouse said Morales provides an outlet of mental support for his players.
“Adding coach Frank to the staff has been a godsend,” said Threehouse. “His leadership abilities and ability to understand how to deal with the pressures of life has allowed our players an outlet for their worries and concerns about the rigors of being a student-athlete. He helps them understand, through his time in the Army, that everything will work out if they believe in themselves and in those around them.”
Morale said he aims to help softball players better face adversity.
“When they have failures in softball, how do we readjust from it, how do we move forward?” said Morales. “My job is to help them work through adversity whether it’s on the field or off the field. Coming onto the softball team, I just became Uncle Frank or a stepdad to these young ladies.”
Morales welcomes anyone in the campus community to his office, he said.
“My purpose here is to make sure everyone is as successful as possible.” Morales said. “If someone comes to my door, I’m going to help them.”
Morales spoke on the importance of addressing mental health in times of need.
“There’s nothing wrong with reaching out for help. If people want to say whoa, you’re weak if you reach out, okay. I have a crap load of accolades, I’ve been to combat, I have medals for bravery, I’ve done all this so-called hardcore stuff, but I reached out for help myself. That is what makes you strong. So, if I can reach out for help, you can reach out for help too.”
peplinmj24@bonaventure.edu, mcalljk24@bonaventure.edu
