McALLEN — After spending two years at McAllen High, Galilea Silva transferred schools, choosing to attend McAllen Rowe to finish both her academic and athletic career.
Upon arriving at Rowe, Silva was forced to sit out her junior season due to a UIL rule that requires student-athletes to be enrolled in their school for one calendar year prior to being eligible to participate in athletics.
After a one-year hiatus, Silva returned to the pitch for her senior season, with Rowe head coach John Martinez presenting her with a new challenge — a new position. Martinez moved Silva from her longtime position of forward to a defender on the backline, hoping to fill the hole left by the graduation of defender Monserrat Olvera.
Despite playing forward since she was 5, Silva trusted her coach’s decision. The move paid its dividends for Rowe, as Silva helped the Warriors outscore opponents 111-32 in 26 games while on their way to a 20-5-1 overall record and an appearance in the second round of the Class 5A postseason.
With her high school career now over, Silva signed her national letter of intent Tuesday at the McAllen Rowe gymnasium to continue her academic and soccer career at Jarvis Christian College, an NAIA university that plays in the Red River Athletic Conference.
“Obviously, to be a college athlete you have to have the talent, but you also have to have the grades and the personality to take it to the next level,” Martinez said. “You have to encompass all those three things to be successful at the next level or to at least put yourself in that position. So, to me, this is better than any trophy, seeing her sign to play at the next level.”
Silva said when she was approached by her coach to make the position switch, she wasn’t immediately ready to say yes.
“At first I was very hesitant,” Silva said. “But I’m the type that if there is a challenge or anything, I’m up for it and I’m going to take it. I really just put my mind to it, and I got it done this year. I think this whole year I just really developed as a defender. I developed into a new player and I gained new skills and was able to catch the eyes of some coaches.”
While Martinez said Silva’s ball control and soccer IQ allowed her to succeed in any position she plays, he stated it’s her team-first attitude that carried her into the collegiate ranks, jokingly saying she would play goalie if she was asked to.
“It’s a tough conversation to have when you’re asking a girl about switching positions,” Martinez said. “She gave the best answer though saying ‘Yeah coach, whatever you need.’ To a coach, that’s awesome. For me, I’m going to fight for that girl. When she’s putting the team first, that’s when the accolades will happen.”
Silva, who plans on playing both the defender and forward position at the next level, will team with 14 former Valley girls’ soccer players who are on the Jarvis Christian women’s soccer team, including her former teammate, Olvera.
While at Jarvis Christian, Silva said she plans to major in social work, with goals to attend law school after graduation.