KEVIN NARRO | Staff Writer
SAN PERLITA — Fourth-year coach Nataniel Garza has steadily built a strong foundation as the boys basketball coach for the San Perlita Trojans.
Each year under Garza, the Trojans have made strides and made the playoffs. The past two seasons, San Perlita reached the third round of the playoffs but failed to get over that hump.
This year, however, there was just some kind of magic in the air. The table was set for the Trojans to have a banner year. San Perlita won a second straight district title and 28 games, which marked a career high for Garza.
The wins didn’t stop there, the Trojans reached the regional tournament for the first time since the 1997-98 season.
Garza was named this year’s Valley Morning Star ALL-STAR Coach of the Year.
“First of all, I couldn’t me more proud of Tige on winning the MVP award,” Garza said. “(Tige) will be the first to tell you that it is more than an individual award. As far as I go, it is bigger than me and it took all of us together to win this award, and although the award has my name on it, it has to be shared with the coaches around me that help the athletic program and our administration that have supported me.”
Garza, a passionate coach who comes with a team-first attitude, has built his career on a hustle and run-and-gun approach, and feels the award goes beyond the court and that it means so much to the community of San Perlita.
“For the team to get the recognition that they have gotten, they deserve it, and here in San Perlita we have some of the hardest working kids that are very goal-oriented,” Garza said. “The kids bought into the system and have a great work ethic, and they get the job done.”
Looking back on the season, Garza owes it to his players who have put in the work and made everything possible.
“The truth is, if it wasn’t for the kids, I wouldn’t be getting this award,” Garza said. “I share it with them, and if anything the kids deserve it more than me. They are the ones that have helped me, and above all I want to thank the kids.”
Along with Garza bringing home the coach of the year award, junior Tige Johnson was named The Valley Morning Star ALL-STAR MVP. The duo feels the awards were a fitting end to a banner season.
“At the end of the year we received different accolades and we knew we were still waiting on the Valley Morning Star, and we were waiting to hear the news to put the icing on top of the cake,” Garza said. “In a way, this puts a close to the season that we had, and the Valley has a great set of players and we continue to get better, and in our area we have a great set of coaches as well.”