Tony Garcia, 30, is a mutual-funds adviser who spends much of his free time coaching kids’ sports leagues. His son, Anthony Clayton, was born Nov. 17, 2006.
How has fatherhood affected your mentoring activities, like baseball with the Denver Police Activities League?
It makes me feel more whole, which is something I’ve not felt in a long time. I learned early that I like working with kids and mentoring kids. I’ve been doing it six years now. I started coaching to help a friend, and I enjoyed it. I didn’t have a kid on the team. It was more like being a positive role model. Now I have a child of my own, it makes more sense all around.
How has it changed your perspective on life?
It gives me more drive. I always thought that when I retired, I’d like to know that I did what I could in the community to make it safer, by working with kids. Now that I have a son of my own, I have even more desire to stay on that path. Not just as a role model for him but for everyone. It means more to be respectable, hardworking and to give back when you can.
What’s the impact of fatherhood on life as a mutual-funds adviser?
It’s given me more desire to do better all around. Before, (if) things didn’t work out well, I’d start over somewhere else. Now I’m more determined to advance and make sure I’m in a position to give him everything he needs in life. I could take classes, go back to school for my master’s degree.
And your romantic life?
He’s only 5 months, so we don’t really have much romantic life right now. We’ve gotten along better than before he was born, and it’s great. It’s important for us to be married and have a good relationship. My goal is to give him as many positive reinforcements as possible, and as a couple, we try to keep the same goals for our family.
What’s the biggest surprise about fatherhood?
For me, it’s how comfortable and familiar it all felt. I’ve worked with kids before, but now I have my own. People say it’s different when you have your own, but it wasn’t really for me. It’s just more rewarding. They made it sound challenging, but I didn’t feel burdened at all. I feel like all my hard work paid off, and now I have something to show for it.
– Colleen O’Connor
