The sun beating down on the back of his neck, energy tense in the air, the occasional cheer from the sidelines. Hamza Deyaf once was one of the sprinters waiting to take off down the track, and now he stands on the sidelines, holding his breath for the Bowie track team.
Deyaf is a volunteer track coach for this year’s season who has finally found the time to return to his beloved sport. Deyaf went to Plano East High School, and had not originally had any experience in track. But the moment he chose to start running track, he was quickly affected by one coach in particular.
“When I was in high school, I had a coach who was a volunteer coach as well, Coach Furman,” Deyaf said. “His volunteering really shaped my life, so I always knew one day when life was more balanced and stable that I’d come back and volunteer. I decided to reach out to schools that were in close proximity, and now I’m here.”
According to Deyaf, he ended up spending a lot of his time on the track, where he learned discipline, teamwork, and accountability, and he believes that time allowed Deyaf to become a very skilled and proficient hurdler.
“I didn’t know I wanted to do hurdles, but my coaches made me believe I could be a good hurdler,” Deyaf said. “I took that skill to state championships my sophomore, junior, and senior year. Which then took me to the University of Texas where I was a three-time All American, and would then run professionally all over the world.”
Head track coach Laura Tilson is in charge of creating the workouts for each event but usually allows the assistant coaches, including coach Hamza, to figure out what each event might need.
“He has brought a lot to us in knowledge of hurdles,” Tilson said. “But also all of the tendencies and small tips I would never have thought of.”
Outside of his time volunteering at Bowie, Deyaf is the CEO and founder of Speedtech Lights here in Austin, manufacturing the lighting systems on emergency vehicles. He has been doing so for the past 18 years, experiencing lots of different environments and work styles, but has found Bowie’s program to be one of the most rewarding.
“I work with 1000 people worldwide, and I would say Coach Tilson is one of these hidden gems, who is just an exceptional leader,” Deyaf said. “From all the leaders I’ve seen, I would say that she’s among the best. She’s firm, holds people accountable, but she’s very loving and compassionate.”
Coach Tilson places a lot of importance on the team and the relationships she forms with her students and wanted to make sure this environment continued when Deyaf joined the team.
“I think my relationship with the kids has shown Hamza the importance of creating connections with them,” Tilson said. “He has become a lot more comfortable with them, and just from knowing their names and being able to give them personalized advice has improved practices.”
Hurdlers who have been a part of Bowie’s track program for a while have been able to observe the changes as a specialized hurdling coach was brought in.
“I feel like he has made practice more fun, and I get excited to go to practice every day,” senior Manning Adkins said. “Because it’s my third year, I appreciate how he has been able to focus on hurdling as an event.”
Influenced by his volunteer coach from high school, Deyaf wanted to make sure he was able to utilize so much of what he had taught him when coaching at Bowie.
“For me, it’s important to have a two-way street of mutual respect and appreciation,” Deyaf said. “I respect the athletes. I understand their goal and what they want to accomplish. And of course athletes reciprocate that by respecting my direction.”
Deyaf is not recognized by AISD or Bowie as a staff member, but everyone on the team quickly welcomed him into their family and recognized him as coach Hamza.
“I feel like the fact that he is a volunteer shows how much he cares about what he does,” sophomore Ellie Grigsby said. “He isn’t doing it for status or money, he’s doing it for the team and all the kids.”
According to senior Bella Puperi, Deyaf is always telling the team they are gonna break world records and includes a lot of exercises into practice just to prove that they can do what they’ve been training for.
“He is one of the most encouraging and positive coaches I have ever met, he is always trying to help us get better and pushes us to give 100%,” Puperi said. “Everyone just loves him. The fact that he ran at Texas makes everyone look up to him because he worked hard to get where he is.”
Deyaf has greatly enjoyed his experience with the team and hopes to continue in his position for as long as the school and his schedule allow him to.
“These moments that exist in high school out here on the track with your friends will never repeat themselves,” Deyaf said. “Your job in this period of life is to value, enjoy, and learn from every opportunity.”
