POWAY-Porfi Sosa never had a real father figure. He was struggling to find a purpose, overwhelmed by responsibilities at home, and heading down what he calls the "wrong road."
No one had ever been able to get through to him; few people even tried. But then, an iconic coach who's won it all decided to make Porfi's success his personal challenge. Although it may have been coach Wayne Branstetter's most taxing professional project, the results speak not only to the merits of athletic competition but also the critical role mentors can play in improving our society. 
Porfirio "Porfi" Sosa (Photos by Robin Simmons)
FAILING EVERY CLASS
"I had all F's, didn't care, didn't try, didn't study, didn't come to school." That's how Porfirio "Porfi" Sosa remembers less than a year ago. "There are problems at home, family problems, money problems, kids problems, all that stuff," he said. Porfi, who is 16 years old, has four other siblings (aged 13, 11, 4, 1). All five of them share one small room in a crowded Poway house. A few other families also live in the same home-meaning the "clothes line" outside is always filled with laundry. Porfi is the responsibility of his single, currently unemployed mother and his grandmother. There is no strong male role model around. 
Basically, Porfi picks up the slack as father figure. "My mom would be at work and no one would be able to watch the brothers and sisters, so I would have to do it." Within that context, Porfi had little time for school and saw, "no reason to care. All I really worried about was how my family was doing, whether my brother was safe or not and my mom." He said he "didn't have a purpose in life." In his entire life, he never once did homework. "I never thought I was going to pass the class anyway." Porfi wasn't passing any classes and Poway High School was threatening to expulsion if his grades didn't improve fast.
"SPECIAL" STUDENT
For most high school students, freshman P.E. is rather forgettable. But for Porfi, it was when his life began to change. Porfi was placed in freshman wrestling P.E. taught by Wayne Branstetter. There's no doubt Branstetter knows his subject well. In 37 years as Poway High School's head wrestling coach, he's won a stunning 29 CIF championships. His record is unparalleled in San Diego County and amongst the best in the country. But Porfi didn't really like wrestling at first. He was a soccer goalie. Still, Coach Branstetter encouraged him to give it a try. "As a wrestling coach, we're always looking for that special kid that obviously has that toughness ingredient…I noticed right away his aggressive nature, a certain degree of cockiness and toughness" said Branstetter. Sosa started to enjoy the sport. When he wrestles, he said "I feel great. I feel like all my problems are gone!" But there was still a big problem. "He understand the whole grade point average thing" Coach said. "Terrible, terrible student." "Coach Branstetter told me if I didn't get my grades up for next year, I wouldn't be able to wrestle at all." His eligibility for the team-and his ability to stay at Poway High School---was riding on his performance in summer school.
SUMMER PROJECT
Porfi takes on an opponent during a home match versus Vista. It takes Porfi two hours to walk to school each day, each way. Coach offered to personally pick him up and drop him off every day all summer long. "I didn't want to give up on him, I liked him, he has a great personality, I just saw something special in him" said Branstetter. The coach would also stop by Porfi's classes on occasion. "My teachers would be like get to work because Coach Branstetter will be coming" Porfi said. Many thought it was a futile effort. "No one thought I was going to make it through summer school. There are teachers saying, 'Coach, why are you wasting your time'?" But Porfi said without Coach's help, he would have given up. "It actually made me want to come to school, I had a reason to show up." For the first time in his life, he had a father figure. Also, for the first time, he earned two B's…and his eligibility.
THE WRESTLER
Porfi Sosa earns a pin during a match. Finally, the wrestling beast was unleashed. Porfi has dominated his weight class and is one of the top ranked wrestlers in San Diego County. He was even asked to represent California in a prestigious national tournament-went 13-2 and won team MVP. Branstetter said Poway's parents have helped make it all possible. "We found a way to support him. He said, 'how am I going to get there?' When I told him he was going fly on a plane he said, 'I've never been on a plane before." After winning, "he was all fired up, suddenly the world became bigger than just Poway. He saw this huge tournament that he got a medal in." His room is now filled with medals and he is hoping to win the biggest one yet-the state championship. Porfi's teammate Ian Roy, who is ranked 4th in the state, said Porfi is an inspiration to the rest of the team. "We all know what he's been through, to see him working as hard as he does and to see him succeed, it kind of drives us to do the same." Roy described Porfi as a "pillar" for the team. "He's taught me if you want something bad enough, you can go and get it."
THE STUDENT BECOMES THE COACH
Porfi is now in the "pay it forward" phase of his experience with Branstetter. He's begun teaching coach's lessons to everyone that will listen. Twice a week, he mentors middle school wrestlers from Poway. Every night, Porfi teaches his younger brother moves. "I want to be a wrestler when I grow up" said Porfi's 11 year old brother, Celso. Porfi added, "He wants to wrestle because he's seen the change in me. He wants to see what it can do for him." A big part of that change is Porfi's role as his siblings' homework tutor now. It has been quite a transformation for the student who never did his work before a year ago. Graciella, Porfi's sister, said Porfi's academic example has inspired her to do better in school. Because of this turn around, Porfi is now on track to be the first in his family to graduate from high school and is even receiving college scholarship offers. "I'm not as dumb as I thought I was," said Porfi. For the coach that has won everything, this victory is perhaps sweetest. "He is absolutely the reason I do it" said Branstetter, with tears visible in his eyes. "I've won more than any man can hope for in a lifetime. I've been doing this 37 years, I won every possible CIF Championship, we've won 29 of them, I've won state titles, everything. But the mission is not in the medals and the trophies and all that. The mission is simply making a difference in a boy's life." Porfi feels the lesson is larger than just him. "If I push myself and I stay and I don't give up, I think I can do something great with my life. There's a saying we have around here, 'those who stay will be champions'."
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