Kolten Klein is an ASU Cronkite School of Journalism student assigned to cover Sunnyslope High School for AZPreps365.com

Coming off a third state championship in five years after moving up a division, Sunnyslope head coach Ray Portela was awarded 6A and Arizona Republic’s coach of the year.  Pandemic or not, he stayed true to his goals, but it was no easy task.

Portela’s journey started as a multi-sport athlete growing up. After his playing days he moved to Boston in 1999 where he became a grad assistant coach at Tufts University for the basketball and football teams.  In 2000, he returned to Los Angeles to work as an assistant coach for Pomona College basketball for three years.

In 2003 he moved back to Phoenix and got a job at Sunnyslope under coach Dan Mannix for seven years before becoming the head coach in 2010.  Working alongside Mannix was special considering he played for him when he attended Sunnyslope.

Mannix is someone Portela can lean on to this day.  He coached at Sunnyslope for 34 years, winning 500 games.  

“I feel very lucky to have played for some very great and caring coaches whom I still keep in contact with,”  Portela said.

Portela often stresses togetherness.  Whether that means weekly team dinners, being supportive or simply showing the players he cares, it all happens together.

Chris Orozco, a member of the back-to-back 2017-2018 state title team said,  “Coach Portela always made us feel like he was there for us, sure he would get on us at times, but we always knew it was best for us in the end.  We all knew on that team that if we needed coach he would always be there whether it was basketball related or not.” 

That type of player testament shows the culture he has built.  Winning comes as a result of gaining players trust and building “togetherness” that is chanted in every huddle.

But, there is a tough love aspect to creating Portela’s winning culture.  

“He is not afraid of telling you what you need to hear,” assistant coach and former player Andy Foster said.  “You may not like it at the time, but he’s up front and honest with the players on what’s best for the team and how they can help.”

“It doesn’t matter if it’s a Friday practice after a long week or an early morning practice, he’s going to come with energy and make sure we get better as a team that day.”

Tough defense has always been the backbone of Sunnyslope teams.  “Both my college coach and coach Mannix were very defensive oriented and you can see a lot of what I do as a coach as what they taught me.”  Portela said.  

Practices are loaded with fundamental defensive rotation drills, charge drills, and full court defense drills.  

Foster said, “He has always made practices harder than the games.  He doesn’t let things slide, if you miss an assignment or if the effort isn’t there, we do it again.  He makes sure the players are always prepared.”

“Nobody was excited for the drills, but you can’t deny the results of them.”  Orozco said.

Offensively their philosophy is to “pass up a good shot for a great shot.”

When you break it down it comes down to hard work.  Portela said, “Whether football, basketball, or baseball, my coaches always stressed to us the importance of the team and to play as hard as you could.”

Portela gives a lot of freedom to his staff.  “I think it helps that we have all been together for a long time and there is a good level of trust by now, but he allows us to run drills during practices and if we have an idea to run something offensively or defensively he isn’t afraid to try it out,”  Foster said.

Togetherness is the key.  Portela stresses that he could not do anything without his assistants and those who help him that do not get the spotlight.