Blog

posted on November 10, 2021

¡Hola familia de Unión! My name is Jose Dahveed Jorge but you can just call me Dahveed- I am the newest addition to this wonderful place. I am originally from Caracas, Venezuela but I moved to the United States when I was 14 years old with my mom and my younger brother. We moved to a small town called Findlay in Ohio. When I moved here I spoke little English- I knew basic words such as food or water but that is about it- so you can guess how easy it was to live in the US for the first couple of years. Once I started feeling more comfortable with the English language, I started playing sports. I wrestled, ran track, played soccer, and swam. I have been swimming since I was about three, so I felt more confident in swimming than anything else. Playing all of those sports is what drove me to follow the career path that I have now.

I attended Bowling Green State University where I actually started as a Criminal Justice major. I wanted to be a forensic scientist but after taking a couple of criminal justice and political science classes I said “NOPE” that shit was too boring. On top of that, the major required a LOT of writing, and let me tell you something, I am no writer, so I switched majors to Exercise Science: Athletic Training. I loved Athletic Training- it made me feel like a doctor. The only bad thing about it was that there was a lot of downtime and I can’t just be sitting in one place writing SOAP notes, accident and injury reports, or treatment logs for hours. So, you might be thinking- “Dahveed if you loved it so much why switch because of such a small thing?” You’re right it was a very minuscule thing but, to be honest, AT didn’t feel like the right path for me, so I decided to switch majors again to Strength and Conditioning!

After I graduated I got a job at a small private facility in Perrysburg, Ohio where I began my coaching career. I coached a variety of sports while I was there, and I got to work with some great athletes and some amazing coaches who have taught me just about everything I know. I worked there for three years before I told myself I needed to move on. I wanted to grow more as a coach and as a person, so decided to move to Pittsburgh. Why Pittsburgh? Well, good question! I have been to Pittsburgh quite a bit and I really liked this city- it reminds me a lot of my hometown in Venezuela- being here is the first time in a really long time that I have felt at home. My time here so far has been amazing. I am very grateful that I get to work with such awesome staff, athletes, and members! I can’t wait to see what else Pittsburgh has to show me.

Some little fun facts about me: I love to cook and try new food. I have eaten a lot of different foods but some of the weirdest things I have eaten have been jellyfish, alligators, scorpions, and spiders (all cooked of course). I collect loose leaf teas, and my favorite at the moment is Gyokoru (a Japanese green tea). I like to think of myself as a big nerd because I love video games, anime, marvel movies, and shows, etc. I am fluent in both Spanish and English, and I can read a little of Japanese Hiragana. I love the Browns (it’s gonna be tough being a browns fan around here), Cavaliers, and Indians/Guardians. That’s it for the fun fact if you want to know more feel free to ask!

Gracias for reading a little bit about me and my life, I cant wait to see where things go from here!