BY GREG LUCA | STAFF WRITER
For both the Grulla Gators and Hidalgo Pirates boys soccer teams, the key to the 2015 season was a rededication to the game.
Grulla, which had never been to the playoffs in its five-year history, started the turnaround with the beginning of last offseason. Hidalgo, a team with a rich history after claiming a state title in 2009, changed midseason.
After sharing the District 31-4A title, both teams have gone on impressive playoff runs, advancing to Region IV-4A semifinal matchups today at Sharyland High School in Mission. Hidalgo faces Fredericksburg at 4 p.m., and Grulla will square off against Liberty Hill at 6 p.m.
“We worked harder this season than other years,” Grulla captain Miguel Flores said. “It’s always been like, ‘Eh, Grulla soccer. That’s something little.’ Now, they’re actually paying attention to us. That’s what makes us go even farther and get respect.”
Respect used to be hard to come by for the Grulla boys, who had an all-time record of 9-31 entering 2015. But from the moment last season ended, coach Angel Ortiz knew this year’s Gators could be special.
“I told our kids, ‘We’re going to make a run for state next year, but we’re starting now,’” Ortiz said.
The players have taken just a single week off since then, kicking the offseason program up to a higher level. Flores has spearheaded that effort, as a senior leader who “really grabbed these guys together and made them brothers,” Ortiz said.
Ortiz said assistants JD Ibarra and Saul Salinas have been huge to the program’s turnaround, as has the fan support from the community.
More than anything, he credited Flores for showing his teammates that it’s OK to be emotional.
“I have guys who have cried walking off the field because of that passion, because of that effort, because they know that they gave it their best,” Ortiz said. “Miguel is the one who instilled that in them.”
Flores’ leadership was critical in the team’s area-round matchup against Kingsville King. Trailing 1-0 at halftime, Ortiz said four of his players were crying, thinking their season would be coming to an end.
“Miguel Flores stepped up and said, ‘We are going to cry, but we’re going to cry of joy,’” Ortiz said.
Grulla came back to beat King 2-1, then topped Pleasanton 4-1 last week to advance.
For Hidalgo, the turning point of the season came in a loss to Grulla during Week 8 of the district season. Coach Zeke Morales said he had to sit out multiple starters for disciplinary reasons, a major factor in a 2-0 defeat that meant Hidalgo would only split the district title rather than win it outright.
“Coming back the next game, the kids said, ‘We’ve worked so hard, we’ve busted our butts. But we’re making silly mistakes, mental mistakes, because we’re not showing up to class on time, or being disrespectful, or putting our phones away in school,’” Morales said. “That’s when it clicked. Since then, we’ve been outstanding on the field, but we’ve been even better off the field.”
Hidalgo’s program has a rich history after winning a state championship in 2009, but the Pirates went just 18-31-1 during the next five district seasons.
Morales said this group turned a corner when the team put the soccer balls away during practice. Instead, for several weeks in the middle of the district season, the routine consisted of the weight room, stadiums and mile runs, even if that left the group tired entering games. A few players questioned the change at first, but soon everyone bought in, unlike previous seasons.
“The kids (in past years) were not as committed as they are mentally,” Morales said. “They weren’t as focused on what we wanted to do. We were talented, but in reality we weren’t giving our best. As soon as that mentality started to change, things started falling into place.”