Steven Serafini
Sonoma Valley Sun Sports Editor
While settling in as the inaugural Sports Editor of the Sonoma Valley Sun, I’m steadily gaining traction to navigate the different avenues I’ll be taking in covering the sports scenes throughout the Valley of the Moon.
My coverage will extend beyond Sonoma Valley High School sports to touch on local individual and group athletes at various levels of competition, as well as the Valley’s sports-related associations and clubs.
And in this Wide Open Field column, I will explore local happenings in and out of athletics, sometimes outside the Valley, drawing on my long personal history as a Sonoman. And I should make it clear that, while I may indulge in some nostalgia, I’m also a progressive, totally for progress at all levels, because without improving and moving forward the most likely scenario is fading away.
So let me explain a little bit about who I am.
I’m a first-generation Italian-American, born in San Francisco’s “Little Italy” (North Beach), as the proud product of Italian immigrants who came to the United States in the first part of the 20th century and worked their way west from Upper Michigan and Pennsylvania.
I was raised in mostly an old-country family environment, with my first language being Italian, and I was taught to speak English when I was four and five years old. That’s when my parents moved to Sonoma, where my maternal grandparents and other family members preceded them, sustained by a farming life, as well as some side labor.
I actually grew up with one foot in the country and one foot in the city, where my fraternal family remained. And I was able, therefore, to experience two ways of life. And because I was fortunate to be a natural athlete, my passion for sports began at an early age with bocce ball and horseshoes, before expanding into the vast world of athletics.
Growing up in the Sonoma Valley through the 1950s and ‘60s, I was drawn into the sports world and started my competitive athletic career with basketball and baseball before discovering football and track and field. It all started with CYO basketball and baseball – the latter for only three years before it was disbanded because other North Bay catholic schools couldn’t beat our talented and dominant St. Francis squads. From there, my sports world expanded into Little League and Babe Ruth baseball, Pop Warner football, and a few elementary track and field experiences.
I also joined my neighborhood friends outside as often as possible, since there was no indoor entertainment technology besides limited TV choices and radio. So we would play a variety of sports, just on our own, as well as bicycling, swimming and fishing in Sonoma Creek or in farm ponds if we were given access.
Then, when I got to high school, I began my productive athletic careers at the prep, college, semipro and a touch-of-pro levels, before competing in a variety of older adult age-group sports.
I’ve been very fortunate to be both an active athlete and to work in the field of sports. At the same time, I’ve been blessed with an ever-expanding Italian-influenced life, raising a family with my inspiring wife Margaret, including three daughters and their loved ones, and two precious granddaughters. And with that as an introduction, I will for now say, Ciao!
In the effort to cover all areas of the Valley community, we welcome all information, updates or happenings by teams, clubs, organizations or individual athletes. Send emails to [email protected]
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