Recently, CHS hurdles coach and member of the CHS family, Charles Daniel, suffered from both a stroke and brain aneurysm. Although this event brought sadness to Carlsbad, members of the community are making a difference with a ‘Go Fund Me’ page to help raise money for Daniel and his family.

“Charles is important to me because he has always been that father figure I never had,” senior Sarah Lang said. “He’s not just my coach but my mentor. He continues to inspire me with all his will to dream big and stay fit.”

Daniel has inspired athletes for many years. Not only has he been the hurdles coach at CHS, but he also organized running camps every Sunday to help kids stay active and live a healthy lifestyle.

“His boot camps on the weekend are really important to a lot of the community,” junior Winter Schweibold said. “A lot of kids look up to him because he a very inspiring person, and he is always giving little life lessons.”

As a role model, Daniel has had support from athletes that are competing today because of him and his support. Although he is not currently at practice, CHS athletes work hard every day to keep Daniel’s work with them.

“He has been my coach for the past eight years and he has impacted my health for the better,” Lang said. “His coaching style keeps me extremely fit and I couldn’t be more thankful for him. His uplifting outlook on life and for health in general is encouraging for a lot of athletes.”

Due to his condition, Daniel has been off both work and practice for the last month, but because of his healthy lifestyle, he is stable and well. The Go Fund Me site has reached his goal of $5000, and continues to rise. To find out more and how to help Coach Daniel and the CHS family raise money, people can visit the gofundme page.

“Coach Charles is family to me,” Lang said. “When I found out what happened I was devastated. No one deserves to have health issues, but especially not Charles. I was more motivated to do better to make him proud and I knew he didn’t want me to be sad. What you can do to help is donate money towards his medical bills and donations help him and his family. Charles is more than thankful for anyone who has contributed.”