DENNIS SILVA II | STAFF WRITER
The 2015 high school football season was good and bad for Marco Aguinaga and Edcouch-Elsa.
The Yellowjackets finished the year as one of three Rio Grande Valley teams left standing. Edcouch-Elsa went three rounds deep in the postseason, falling to eventual state champ Cedar Park, one year after losing to Sharyland High in the bi-district round.
But Aguinaga, the Yellowjackets’ dual-threat quarterback, played just five games after suffering a hand injury. He played the first three games and returned for the final two playoff games, though not at full strength. So as soon as the Yellowjackets returned to Elsa after that bitter loss to the Wolverines in San Antonio, Aguinaga didn’t wait.
Eager to make a statement this senior season, Aguinaga spent time in the weight room or on the track during the offseason, and then attended six camps, two national, this summer.
Three days into the start of practices this week, Aguinaga looks like a new young man: confident, prepared, hungry and desperately ready to take in whatever 2016 has in store.
“Marco’s been ready to go since last year’s offseason,” E-E coach Joe Marichalar said. “He had a great summer, put in plenty of work. His knowledge, his leadership … they’re all up to par. He’s got all the intangibles lined up, so it’s a matter of him showcasing his talents and leading this team where we want to go.”
Aguinaga has always been athletically gifted. He has good height, he’s quick on his feet and he’s powerful. But where his game will likely take a turn for the best is in his mechanics.
In attending camps at TCU and UTSA, a pair of regional camps in Houston and national camps in Ohio and South Carolina, Aguinaga was re-introduced to the basics. Used to relying on his athleticism to bail himself out of precarious situations on the field, Aguinaga now trusts his technique and comprehension.
“The one thing they focused on at a lot of those camps was quarterback fundamentals,” Aguinaga said. “Stuff as simple as the three-step drop and other fundamentals that quarterbacks can miss nowadays. Fundamentals are what wins games as a quarterback.”
At the camps, Aguinaga gained confidence. He was named MVP of the USA Football national camp in Ohio. He starred at the TCU and UTSA camps. He proved to himself that he could compete with talent outside of the Valley.
“I improved a lot, so I know there’s even more room to improve,” Aguinaga said. “Those camps up north are all about speed and it’s good to get a chance to go up there and throw to them because they’re quicker and faster. Playing down here was something I was used to, something I had gotten comfortable with. I was able to break out of my comfort zone a little bit.”
Aguinaga’s mother, Daniella, said the family had to sacrifice to take him to the camps. The trips out of state doubled as a family vacation; family needs had to be taken care of later. Daniella and Marco’s stepdad, Joel Lara, footed the bill for the regional camps in Houston.
“Marco came up to me in the spring and said there was a chance to go to the national camps if he did well at the regional ones,” Daniella said. “He asked me, ‘Can we do it?’ I said, ‘You’re going to make it. You’re going to make it. So we’ll make it happen.’ My husband and I anticipated him making it, so we’d talk finances and what to save and what would have to be sacrificed, so there was a plan all along.”
Local sponsorships helped with the cost of the national camps.
“You can see the passion on his face,” Daniella said. “He loved being around kids who had the same goals he had. He’s someone who wants to make people proud, and the fact that he feels he can do that with something he’s good at makes him really happy. And to see your son happy makes a mother happy.”
It has paid off. Marichalar said when the two discuss quarterback play now, Aguinaga’s understanding is more advanced.
In huddles, he has full command. If he’s not correcting mistakes, he’s encouraging teammates.
“That’s a guy who leads the No. 1 offense in the district,” senior defensive back James Rodriguez said. “He’s one of the best quarterbacks in the Valley. He’s gotten a lot better reading defenses and he’s throwing quicker. He’s stronger at knowing where his receivers are and how they can get open. He’s quicker on his timing.”
Added senior offensive lineman Elijah Sanchez: “His will to win is the same, but he’s smarter. He knows more what to do as quarterback and you can tell he feels real comfortable out there.”
Coming off an injury-marred junior season, Aguinaga is driven and pushed.
“Winning that district title, that’s our main goal,” he said. “That’s what got me going to these camps. That, and I want to get my name out there because I want to play at the next level. I just got out there and put in the work.”