FACES OF CEBU: Kern Sesante, 39, lawyer and basketball coach

Sesante coach

| contributed photo

CEBU CITY, Philippines—Focusing on one profession is a painstaking responsibility for many. But University of Cebu (UC) Webmasters head coach Kern Sesante mastered two professions with grace. 

Sesante has been lauded in the local basketball scene for being a lawyer and a head coach of one of Cebu’s renowned collegiate men’s basketball teams.

According to the 39-year-old Sesante, he doesn’t have a secret to his budding career in basketball coaching. For him, it’s all about time management. 

It can be recalled that the Webmasters finished runners-up in the recently concluded Cebu Schools Athletic Foundation Inc. (Cesafi) men’s basketball tournament. The University of the Visayas (UV) Green Lancers emerged champions. 

It was Sesante’s first full-time coaching stint for UC after his debut in 2020 was spoiled by the Covid-19 pandemic. 

Sesante didn’t disappoint as he towed UC to the Cesafi men’s finals, only falling short to the heavily favored Green Lancers.

Despite the loss, Sesante gave everyone a glimpse of his coaching potential.

University of Cebu (UC) Webmasters head coach Kern Sesante. | UC FB

TIME MANAGEMENT 

So, how does Sesante juggle his time being a lawyer and coaching a team?  

“It’s time management and having a very supportive wife is the really the key,” said Sesante, who is married and has a two-year old baby boy.

“Lawyering and coaching a collegiate basketball team in Cebu City are both very time consuming activities. In order to do well in both endevours, you have to really manage your time well.”

Sesante pointed out that besides basketball and lawyering, he also has a duty to his family, particularly his two-year-old son, who also needs his time and attention. 

“Worthy of mentioning also is the fact that I have 2-year old son who also needs my time and attention. So it’s not just lawyering and coaching that I have to balance. I also have roles as a father and a husband that I need to manage well. So, I’m very blessed to have a loving and very understanding wife,” said Sesante. 

INSTILLING VALUES

Although falling short in the Cesafi finals,  Sesante is still satisfied with what his team showed throughout the season. 

With that in mind, he wants to continue to instill the values and principles he devouts his life into his team to lead them to more successes. 

“At the onset of my coaching in UC, I have told the team that the key to success in basketball are setting goals, hard work, discipline, perseverance, and team work,” Sesante explained. 

“But aside from those, I told them that I expect all players under my team to learn and master being grateful for all the things regardless of the situation. Being respectful and being confident without becoming arrogant.”

Sesante wants to leave a lasting legacy to his team. He wants his players to be academically responsible and how to manage their studies, personal life, and basketball the same as how he managed his. 

He explained that he wants to teach them these values so his players will learn that they always have a choice in everything they do on and off the court. 

“I always remind my players the value and principles because I would be the happiest person to see them living their lives abundantly,” Sesante concluded.

/bmjo

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