by Enrique Gutiérrez
Staff Writer
All spring semester, the University of La Verne locker room has been different. Loneliness fills in, silence breaks in and the nostalgic memory takes over a place that has seen many moments of victory and defeat.
But the room is not the only witness to those moments. José Chaffino, equipment manager, has been there too for the last 12 years until he was put on the disability list due to a problem in his right knee in early February. He has been patiently waiting for the day in which he will be able to come back.
“They just told me, ‘You can’t work like that,'” he said. “They told me it was going to be a routine surgery.”
However, three months later, the 58-year old Chaffino is still waiting for his operation date.
“What are we? Numbers or people?” said Chaffino. “Last month they told me it could take between three or four months before I get it.”
Chaffino misses his work. He is the man responsible to get all the gear and equipment needed before each La Verne game.
“I do the laundry and get the uniforms ready for the players. I do a lot of sewing,” said Chaffino. “I try to get the players the numbers they want and I fix their uniforms.”
Head football coach Don Morel said Chaffino’s absence is felt on a daily basis.
“He’s a wonderful person and we miss seeing him around every day,” Morel said. “He’s a fun guy to be around.”
Chaffino has witnessed the progress and changes the athletic department has gone through in the past few years.
“I came here when [Roland] Ortmayer coached, I saw other baseball coaches, old folks, Owen Wright,” he said.
He remembers when Ortmayer left and coach Rex Huigens, now the chair of Movement and Sports Sciences, took over the football team to then be replaced by the current coach Don Morel.
“Don Morel was playing football when I started,” said Chaffino. “I’ve seen the philosophy of Ortmayer carried through Rex, carried through Morel,” Chaffino said. “They all wanted winning teams.”
Chaffino realizes the growth of the athletic department compared to what it was when he first came.
“When I got to La Verne all the coaches were in the athletic office, now they have their own separate office,” he said.
Chaffino said most athletic programs at ULV have begun to recognize the importance of recruiting.
“There is a strong emphasis on recruiting,” he said. “Before, practices weren’t as intense as they’re now. Now they want good guys to play who are also good students.”
That recruiting enriches Chaffino’s experiences at the University.
He said that athletes coming from all over the country face many obstacles and have few people to talk to. That allows him to build close relationships with them.
“Sometimes they want to leave because they have problems. They miss their folks. I talk with them and try to make them feel better. I tell them to shake it off,” he said. Chaffino said he encourages them to “go back to work where you’re supposed to be. They are frustrated, but they realize that things work out.”
“I like the kids and I like having fun with them,” he said.
Besides the players and coaches, Chaffino interacts with his work study students. He said he tries to be a good boss so that his workers learn their duties and are ready for a job after they finish their studies.
“I keep track of their hours,” he said. “We make a commitment and we stick to it.
“I tell my students, ‘You’re going to be disappointed in the real world if you don’t stick to your commitments.'”
Chaffino and his team also make sure the Supertent’s floor is ready for volleyball and basketball contests.
“It’s a disadvantage to set up the floor before the game. We clean the floor, but it’s harder now because of the practice hours,” said Chaffino.
“I’ve known José for five years,” said Dan Mulville, head men’s basketball coach and sports information director. “I like him a lot.
“We work a lot together. He’s always willing to help. He never gave me a hard time,” Mulville said.
Mulville also said Chaffino is “good at fixing things such as the shot clocks and stuff.”
Chaffino remembers various anecdotes that have filled his life for over a decade and hopes to continue accumulating more experiences at ULV during the next few years.
“I have four or five years before I retire. I have made a lot of friends,” he said.
Chaffino said Homecoming games give him the opportunity to stay in contact with many athletes.
“I’m a friend of the students and the athletic department,” he said.
The father of five boys, including ULV alumnus Tony and current ULV student Mario, Chaffino refers to his ULV years as “a great experience [in which] I’ve learned a lot.”
Among the goals he has set to accomplish before his retirement is to get a more functional equipment room.
“We need to have a locker room more suited to hold the equipment better. There is so much new stuff that it’s hard to keep up,” he said.
While that happens, he knows he needs to take care of his knee and although coaches do not know whether he will be back, he knows better.
“I miss everybody,” Chaffino said. “I’m going to be back.”
