By JOSHUA McKINNEY, Staff Writer
Porter Cowboys basketball is a family experience for coach Luis Garza and his sons, Albert Garza and Luis Garza II.
Porter’s campus is basically a home away from home.
Both Luis Garza and his brother, Israel Garza, played basketball for the Cowboys. His sister, Eulalia Fortiscue, also attended Porter as a student and his mother, Rosalinda Jimenez, worked in the school’s cafeteria for more than 20 years.
With his sons Luis Garza II, a junior, and Albert Garza, a senior, the family lineage at the school has come full circle.
“It’s really a mind-blowing experience,” said Porter coach Luis Garza, who played for Porter alongside his brother before becoming a coach in 2003. “It’s a real blessing to have both of my boys play here. They had their choices of schools to go to because we’re from the Hanna area, but they wanted to come here.”
“It’s cool knowing that your family’s graduated from the same school and you’re going to have the same exact chance to do it,” Albert Garza said. “It’s awesome knowing that you get to play on the same court as your dad back in the day when he was a player.”
Coaching his sons on his former court sparks Luis Garza’s intensity harder than he can remember since he started coaching junior varsity basketball in 2000 at Porter and moving to varsity in 2003.
He will admit he’s tougher on them than the other players, but that’s just a side effect of his expectations for his sons since they have spent a lifetime around the game.
“It causes a lot of sleepless nights,” Luis Garza said. “I get on them a little more than I probably should and more than I have any other kid in my 15 years as a coach, but I think it’s because they’ve been around the sport since they were kids. I don’t expect them to be superstar caliber players but I expect to understand the game and certain situations, so when things don’t go the way things should I tend to get overly aggressive.”
Albert Garza and Luis Garza II take their father’s intensity in stride, though.
Luis Garza II even thinks he’s become a better player after adjusting to his father’s tough-love style on the court.
“Last year, I didn’t really handle it well but this year it’s gotten better,” he said. “I feel like I have a chip on my shoulder every game and I have to player harder than everybody else. That’s why I feel like I’ve gotten better, having him there and dealing with that stuff. It’s just another challenge in life.”
Joshua McKinney writes for The Brownsville Herald. You can reach him at (956) 982-6663 or via email at [email protected] Twitter, he’s @joshuabvherald.