By ROY HESS, Staff Writer
Welcome to Brownsville, the “Soccer Capital of Texas.”
For the record, Rio Grande Valley teams have captured six UIL state championships in soccer since 2004, and four of them belong to Brownsville.
Thanks to its success in the sport, particularly by boys teams at the high school level, the city has gained a reputation for its soccer prowess.
And it’s clear such success simply hasn’t come about overnight.
The Lopez Lobos won the Valley’s first UIL state soccer title in 2004 and additional state championships found their way to Brownsville thanks to Porter in 2006, Rivera in 2015 and Porter again in 2016.
Also worthy of mention is the fact that Lopez made it back to the state final in 2009 and Hanna accomplished the same feat in 2013. Other Brownsville teams making it to the state semifinals were Porter in 1984 and 2011, Hanna in 1990, Rivera in 2005 and 2007, and Lopez in 2014 and 2016.
In addition, the St. Joseph Academy Bloodhounds have reached the TAPPS state semifinals during each of the past two seasons.
The Valley’s two other UIL state championships in soccer were captured by Hidalgo in 2009 and Sharyland High in 2012.
Still, as far as enjoying success on the high school soccer stage in South Texas, no one comes close to Brownsville.
There are several factors that would seem to explain the rise of soccer in Brownsville since the UIL sport began in Texas in 1983.
Some of the reasons for that success can be attributed to the passion that exists for the sport on the border, Brownsville’s well-organized youth leagues and the presence of experienced high school coaches who have played the game themselves and have guided teams to the highest levels of UIL competition. Plus, there’s unwavering support for soccer in the community and throughout the Brownsville ISD school administration.
All those factors have combined to create an atmosphere of some pretty high expectations for Brownsville soccer teams. With each passing state title, all teams from the city — and actually from across the Valley — become more and more convinced that they can do it, too.
Coaches many times say advancing out of the Valley in the playoffs is the toughest part of reaching the state tournament.
“Brownsville has always had great talent in soccer,” said Porter coach Jose Espitia, whose Cowboys won the Class 5A state title April 16 in Georgetown and finished with a 28-0-1 record. “We have always had great (youth) leagues that help with the development of athletes. I honestly feel that all those leagues and club coaches have greatly contributed to the success (of the high schools), and I think it also has to do with the fact that all the coaches out there have played soccer and know the sport.”
BUILDING CHEMISTRY
It’s typical that a high school team winning state often has players who have spent years together playing on youth squads. The familiarity players develop with one another as teammates over time becomes invaluable.
Such a team was the 2015 Rivera Raiders, who captured the inaugural Class 6A boys championship in soccer with a 28-0 season mark. They were the first Valley team to win state with an undefeated record.
“I believe most of the high schools (in Brownsville) have talented players,” said former Rivera standout Isidro “Chelin” Martinez, an attacking midfielder/forward on the Raiders’ championship squad of two seasons ago who now plays at the University of Texas-Rio Grande Valley. “Of the team from 2015, we had played together on the same club team since we were young and it helped build a strong chemistry between us. You get to know your teammates’ abilities and disabilities.
“I think Brownsville high schools have done so well because of their dedication to the game and because there are coaches who know what it takes to reach the ultimate goal,” Martinez added. “The goal is always to get to state and then go higher (and win the championship).”
Kevin Maldonado had a similar experience at Lopez. He was a key member of the Lobos squad that went to state in 2014.
“Out of the 23 (players on that Lopez team), I played with at least 15 of them on club teams (in youth soccer), and it was a plus,” said Maldonado, a midfielder who signed with Coastal Bend College in Beeville out of high school. “That’s how we met each other. It helps you because you get to know how everyone plays and it becomes easier once you’re on the pitch.”
WEALTH OF LEAGUES
There are a number of outlets for boys and girls to play organized youth soccer in Brownsville. Among them are the Brownsville Opportunity Youth Soccer Association, Brasa Youth Soccer League, Brownsville United FC and Barracudas Soccer Academy FC.
In some cases, through these leagues, youth teams bring home state championships on the club level before or during the time the athletes play in high school. For example, two youth club teams that won state titles just last month are the Brownsville Galaxy (under 14 boys) and Brownsville United FC (under 19 girls).
Children start playing youth soccer as early as age 3, said Leticia Capistran, president of Brownsville Opportunity Youth Soccer Association. That’s the age her two children began playing in BOYSA.
Parents have the option of registering their young children for a recreational league or a competitive league, said Capistran, who has been involved with BOYSA for 10 years, including the past six as president.
“Our (competitive) teams play outside the Valley and go against teams from San Antonio, El Paso, Houston and other places,” Capistran said. “It’s exposure to the competition that is out there.”
Besides just playing the sport, Capistran said youth soccer participation is a way to remind children about the demands ahead of them, particularly those in the classroom, if they wish to continue playing the game at higher levels.
“Our coaches encourage them to do well in school and keep up with their studies (so they can stay academically eligible to play),” Capistran said.
Former Brownsville resident Francisco Bermudez Sr. said youth leagues have “everything to do with it” regarding the soccer success enjoyed by the city’s teams at the high school level.
Each of his three children — two boys and one girl — started youth soccer at age 3, played in high school and went on to play in college on a scholarship. All three went to Texas College in Tyler.
“I told my kids, ‘Look, it can help you get an education (in college) doing what you like to do,’” said Bermudez, who served as BOYSA president from 2003 to 2005. “I never played myself, but when I saw that the youth leagues were a good thing, I had to get involved. I don’t coach anymore, but I still like to go out and see the teams play, especially the high schools.”
Bermudez said not only have youth leagues helped groom players for high school competition, but also for playing in college.
“It’s a golden egg we have here in the Valley as far as the soccer talent,” he added.
Bermudez said Demetrio Hernandez, formerly soccer coach at Texas College and now at Wiley College in Marshall, has been a leader in recruiting South Texas soccer prospects.
“He’s done a lot by signing our athletes,” Bermudez said.
HIGH-CALIBER COACHES
While having talented soccer players has helped Brownsville schools prosper, the presence of experienced coaches who are knowledgeable about the game is also an important positive.
Remarkably, four of the six current boys coaches at Brownsville’s largest public high schools have guided at least one team to a UIL state final. Those four coaches are Espitia at Porter (twice, including once as an assistant at Lopez), Salvador Garcia at Rivera, Amadeo Escandon at Lopez (twice) and Reyes Prado at Hanna.
“There are many qualified youth and adult coaches that are contributing greatly to the technical and tactical soccer development of our youth players,” said Juan de Dios Garcia, the boys soccer coach at Hanna for 30 years before retiring after the 2012 season. “Our high school coaches are constantly nourishing themselves with soccer knowledge to continue the educational process for young athletes in our community. Many of our Brownsville high school coaches attend TASCO and SMU soccer clinics plus NSCAA national symposiums.
“They have tremendously improved their knowledge from (attending seminars featuring) experienced U.S. and international presenters,” added Garcia, president of the Valley high school soccer coaches organization. “Some of our high school coaches are taking state and national diploma courses with the intention of learning how to give the best instruction possible to our athletes. Our high school coaches are very humble and great competitors. Many of them come from schools with winning soccer traditions. There are also many former high school soccer players coaching in the youth leagues.”
Espitia believes the current high school competition is as fierce now as it has ever been, prompting coaches to constantly stay on their toes in making the right moves necessary to succeed.
“In the 1980s there was soccer talent, but very few coaches that really knew the sport,” said Espitia, who played at Lopez before graduating in 1997. “After Lopez in 2004, everyone knew that it could be done and that winning a state title was something attainable.
“I also feel that nowadays the bar has been set very high and the expectations are to go to state (every year), and if not, it’s a bad season,” he added. “With this in mind, everyone sets their mind to it and works super hard every year to reach that goal.”