Javier Acosta has served as the invisible glue that holds Santa Barbara’s sporting events together for decades.
While he is not the one catching touchdown passes or scoring game-winning penalty goals, none of the highlight-worthy plays in town would be possible without Acosta’s personal touch. However, it has been a long road for him to get to this point.
Acosta was born in Mexico and lived there until the age of 15, when his family made its way to the United States because his father wanted to give them a chance for a better life.
Upon arrival, Acosta jumped right into the workforce. He got a job at Scolari’s Market and the car wash on Milpas St., while enrolled at Santa Barbara High.
His time as a Don was his first-ever experience in school, and he worked his way to graduation and became the first in his family to receive a high school diploma.
Before he graduated, Acosta was discovered playing soccer on his own by one of the Santa Barbara High gardeners. The gardener told the coaches about him, and Acosta eventually joined the Dons team.
This relationship proved to be a life-changing one, as Acosta became friends with and began helping the gardeners on campus. With a father who worked gardening jobs, Acosta knew plenty when it came to techniques and quickly got a job working for a local landscaping company.
Soon after his graduation, Acosta became an employee at Santa Barbara High School as a gardener with those who took him under their wing as a student.
Acosta has never stopped dedicating his time to Santa Barbara High, and he now serves as the school’s head gardener. He is certified in reclaimed water use and has helped the SB Unified School District solve several water and gardening problems.
In addition to tending to the fields and grounds of Santa Barbara High, Acosta also cares for the fields for Santa Barbara Junior High School, the Boys and Girls Club, Youth Football League and area youth soccer leagues.
However, Acosta’s impact doesn’t end at maintaining the local athletic fields. He also works with special education students at Santa Barbara High, has helped provide for homeless people, those with terminally ill family members and young children living in at-risk communities.
“I show up for others. I did understand (at) a very young age that no matter what, I will do good,” Acosta said. “My parents and grandparents taught me not to play the victim of anything, because we only have one life and we decide to make it better.”
While he has continued to provide for the student-athletes around Santa Barbara, he has never stopped providing for his family. He saved his money to buy his parents a condo, has helped raise his nephews and has been key in his entire family becoming U.S. citizens.
Acosta has spent the majority of his life as the silent hero of Santa Barbara athletics, and his humble career has led to a spot in the SBART Hall of Fame.
