BY NATE KOTISSO | THE MONITOR
HIDALGO — When Hidalgo coach Saul Arjona’s twin daughters Alexis and Ashley were born, the thought of coaching them never entered his mind. A lot of that had to do with Arjona being an assistant basketball coach under boys coach Gus Sanchez at the time.
“I have three girls and one boy. My dream was to coach my boy,” Arjona said.
Eight years ago, Hidalgo ISD was in the market for a girls basketball coach, and the district turned to Arjona.
“I didn’t want the job,” Arjona said. “I told them, ‘I’ll be the coach until you get someone else.’”
Besides, Alexis and Ashley didn’t think much about basketball when they were younger. Their mom placed them in modeling competitions and gymnastics. But Saul Arjona often brought the twins to his practices.
“I don’t want to call myself a ‘gym rat,’ but I was almost always in a gym. My daughters would be sitting down coloring or doing homework and I’d say, ‘Get a ball.’ They’d go, ‘Uh-uh,’” Arjona said while imitating his daughters shaking their head. “I thought I could at least make them ball girls for the team.”
Ashley suddenly showed an interest in basketball when she was an eighth-grader, and Alexis joined the varsity roster during her sophomore year. Now, both seniors are key pieces in Hidalgo’s rotation. At 21-8, the Pirates are alone in first place in District 32-4A and are ranked ninth in the latest RGVSports.com Top 10 girls basketball poll.
“It’s hard, because it’s been nothing but tough love with him,” Ashley said of her father. “He tries to motivate me the best way he can, but it’s hard with everyone’s eyes on us, expecting us to mess up. There can be some criticism or negative comments that come with that. I’ve learned how to swallow all that and prove people wrong on the court.”
Ashley is 5-foot-1, but she plays bigger than her height. She is one of the skilled point guards who orchestrates the Pirates’ speedy offense and pressure defense. Ashley is posting a near quadruple-double at 8.6 points, 9.5 rebounds, 10.7 assists and 8.3 steals per game. Her assist and steal averages are tops in the Valley.
“I try to really get after it in the weight room and on the court,” Ashley said. “It’s tough to go up against our post players, because they’re tall and aggressive down low. They get a lot of rebounds, but we’re all running, trapping and being aggressive on defense.”
Alexis is averaging 4.3 points and 2.3 steals per game.
“He’s made me a better player by pushing me,” Alexis said of her father. “I remember how hard he used to push the guys. He pushes us even harder.”
Sharing the court with a sibling isn’t always a walk in the park.
“Sometimes, we bump heads, but we know how to read each other,” Alexis said. “It’s good.”
Saul Arjona said he is glad he took the girls job all those years ago.
“I’m better off for it,” Arjona said. “I’ve told the girls that while I never wanted to coach girls in the past, now there’s no way I can go back to the boys. I like the challenge of it. I coached a team that came off a Sweet 16 after I took over the girls. I don’t think this team is as talented as them, but I think their heart is a lot bigger. I’m tough on them, but they’re taking it well.”