BY NATE KOTISSO | STAFF WRITER
ALAMO — Most nights, Michael Uribe was awakened by a nagging cough. The coughing fits happened about four to five times each week and typically ended the same way. As to not wake his sleeping family, Uribe tiptoed out of the house to either his front or backyard. There, he vomited.
“What was happening is that I was sick a lot in the middle of the night, and I wasn’t paying much attention to it,” the PSJA Memorial coach said. “I felt that getting sick at night was part of the tough demands of my job.”
Uribe first had an aha moment two years ago when his persistent cough woke his son.
“When I came back in the house, my son asked me, ‘Dad, are you OK?’” Uribe said. “I could see the worry in his eyes.”
Doctors tested Uribe and found he had been dealing with acid reflux issues. These problems included, but were not limited to, a hiatal hernia and esophagitis. A hiatal hernia can force food and acid to clog up the esophagus, which were factors in Uribe’s late-night regurgitating.
He was advised by doctors to change his diet and exercise more. Uribe did some of those for a beat, but neither became habits. The vomiting continued.
Uribe grew up in Harlingen and played linebacker for the Cardinals. After graduation from Harlingen High, he began his undergraduate career as a biology major at The University of Texas at Austin.
Uribe still wanted to play football, so he transferred to Texas A&M-Kingsville, where he walked on to the team.
“I wasn’t a larger person, so in my eyes, I always looked the same,” Uribe said. “I was a young assistant coming out of college, and I was active and always in tune with my health.”
Uribe was an assistant at McAllen High and Mercedes before he was elevated to Mercedes head coach in 2009.
“When I first became a head coach, the demands intensified and became more time-consuming,” Uribe said. “As you get older and don’t have the same opportunities to prioritize taking care of yourself, the responsibilities of the job weigh on you.”
Five months ago, Uribe had enough.
“It was either continue doing the things that were causing problems, the immediate gratification with long-term consequences, or make the changes that were going to allow me to live my life as long as I possibly can,” Uribe said.
Uribe has lost almost 50 pounds since April. The near-daily vomiting is a thing of the past.
“When things slowed down, I’d get up at 5 in the morning and meet a friend of mine at a gym,” Uribe said. “I’d do anything from CrossFit to cycling on the weekends to weight training.”
Now that football and the school year are in full effect, Uribe can’t devote the same amount of time to working out.
“Thankfully, my diet is well structured,” Uribe said. “I have prep meals that are delivered to me on a daily basis. I’ll have a light breakfast, which consists of yogurt and fruits. I had some pot roast with brown rice for lunch today, and then I’ll go home and eat something reasonable. No extra sugars, if I can avoid it. No breads, no fried foods, no sweets.”
Uribe’s transformation was jarring to the coaches who caught up with him during this summer’s coaching clinic circuit.
“When people haven’t seen me for a while, they go, ‘Wow, you lost a lot of weight,’” Uribe said. “I’m on the board of directors for the Texas High School Coaches Association, where the president is (Katy High School) football coach Gary Joseph. As we started our board of director meeting, I said something. And coach Joseph said, ‘Coach Uribe, I’m glad you started talking, because I was having a hard time figuring who you were sitting in that chair.’ No matter what I looked like, I always sounded the same.”
Uribe’s quality of life around the house improved exponentially after the weight loss.
“I wasn’t sleeping much when I got sick, but now I wake up energized,” Uribe said. “Overall, it’s been a blessing. Not only do I feel more comfortable in my skin, but I have the energy for what’s important, and that includes my family.
“I put so much emphasis on my work. A job like this is going to cause you to sacrifice time for yourself and your family, but if there’s a will, there’s a way. You can prioritize your health and your family. When I get home, I have the energy to spend time with my wife and my children. Those are all things that I had to put in perspective. With God’s grace, I will have that focus going forward, because as hard as it was to get here, it’s even easier to gain it all back.”