By MARIO AGUIRRE | STAFF WRITER
DONNA — Cindy Viesca understood the skepticism surrounding her hiring at Donna High in 2012.
Her position, like the team’s success, had little stability.
Coaches fled. The Bravettes failed to make the playoffs. And, gradually, players lost faith in a program that yielded one postseason appearance since 2005 and one district title going back to 2004.
So as Viesca settled into her job, players wanted to know one thing.
“‘Are you going to leave us like the rest of the coaches?’”
“‘No,’” she said. “I want to grow roots.”
True to her word, Viesca has overseen the Bravettes’ overhaul, going from a fringe playoff team in her first two years to one that’s on the verge of placing a district title on a relatively empty mantle.
“It’s something the Donna program needs so we could get used to winning,” senior Marina Martinez said.
The Bravettes very much remember the pain they endured last year, falling one place shy of qualifying for the postseason. Not again, players thought.
“It was emotional,” senior Yvette Tamez said, “because we could’ve made it.”
Tuesday’s regular-season finale promises to trigger strong feelings again, for a variety of reasons.
Already, Donna (34-8, 13-0) has clinched at least a share of the 32-5A crown, having defeated second-place Edcouch-Elsa (21-16, 11-1) in the first round of district. Should the Bravettes, ranked No. 3 by RGVSports.com, sweep the season series against the ninth-ranked Yellowjackets, Donna would finish with a 14-0 record and gain sole possession of the district championship.
“That’s what we want,” Martinez said. “We don’t want to share it.”
As one of four seniors, Martinez has helped shoulder some of the leadership load. As a junior, she assumed part of that responsibility. So heading into the offseason, Martinez felt comfortable texting teammates, instilling urgency.
“Girls, we need to get ready for the season. We need to start working together.”
“We need to jell. We need to come together as a team.”
Asked what’s led to the turnaround, Martinez didn’t flinch.
“It goes back to roles,” she said. “Everybody on the team knows their role.”
Martinez leads the team in aces and attacks. She’s second in digs behind Kara Yanez. Tamez, a middle blocker, delivers forceful spikes. Sarah Gonzales, also a middle, leads in blocks. And Melanie Arenas, a sophomore, fills in with timely hits.
“We have everything,” Tamez said.
It certainly appeared that way in the first match this season against E-E, a battle of then-undefeated district teams.
The Bravettes stormed back from two games down to win in five and sit alone in first place. It was a defining moment for the surging program.
“I kept telling the girls we were going to win,” Viesca said. “I told them I believed they could do it. They were like, ‘Coach, I don’t know. We’re down.’ I told them you have to believe in yourself.
“They showed a lot of fight and character just hanging in there.”
It’s been a process. Viesca understood the rebuilding project she had on her hands in 2012, having spent 11 years at Valley View and four more at Hidalgo.
It was going to require patience to grow a program. It was going to take time to have everyone buy in.
“It was about getting the girls to believe that they could bring that tradition to Donna, as far as winning,” the third-year coach said. “The girls started playing a lot more confidently. They got more involved with the sport. And they worked really hard in the offseason.
“They set their goals early.”
Now, they appear ready to enjoy the fruits of their labor, in a season that has no end date in sight.
“It feels pretty good,” Viesca said. “Just blessed to have a great team that’s been able to do this this year. Setting the foundation, our kids are excited. Our younger girls, they’ve got somebody to look up to, to follow in their footsteps.”