An ancient tradition that started in China will be on display this weekend on the Peninsula.
Thousands will take part in the International Dragon Boat Festival in Foster City. Teams feature all ages. The sport takes discipline and teamwork. It also offers a community for young people to succeed.
Henry Ha coaches three youth dragon boats for Community Youth Center (CYC) in San Francisco. Practice is three days a week at Lake Merced.
“Dragon boat is the team sport,” he said. “No superstar, individual superstar on the boat.”
From student to full-time staff, Ha has been with CYC for nearly three decades and coaching for more than 20 years. He was recruited to be on CYC’s very first dragon boat team as a teenager. Before that, he didn’t know what a dragon boat was.
Dragon boat has a more than 2,500 year history in China and is predominantly known as an East Asian sport.
“I actually want to be a coach to give back to the community,” Ha said.
Nearly all the members of CYC’s teams are Asian. This year, Ha wanted to change that, saying, “Why don’t I try to expand it into more diverse?”
Ha recruited at various high schools in the Bayview. After several attempts, he got a diverse group to sign up that included Black, Pacific Islanders and Latino students.
“I’m coaching Latinx kids who don’t speak English,” he said. “I speak English. I don’t speak Spanish. But we able to connect. That’s an impact. And also we break through the wall…they learn different culture. They learn how to connect with people they never connect with.”
Ha said CYC is always recruiting for new members. It’s free to join and participate. For more information on CYC’s dragon boat community, click here.
Christine Ni, Janelle Wang and Michael Horn
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