By CLAIRE CRUZ, Staff Writer
Marco Hinojosa has spent the past 15 years helping to build the basketball program at Los Fresnos. He worked his way up from a JV coach to a varsity assistant, and just completed his seventh season as head coach.
Hinojosa led his Falcons to a sixth straight district title — and the first undefeated district season in his tenure — this year, then reached the Sweet 16 for the first time in program history. Hinojosa’s leadership earned him The Brownsville Herald’s 2019-2020 All-Metro Boys Basketball Coach of the Year award.
“It is an honor (to win this award). It just speaks volumes of what we have been doing here at Los Fresnos,” Hinojosa said. “More importantly, it says a lot about our student-athletes. We had a special group of guys that bought into a system of team basketball and unselfish play.”
Los Fresnos has continually improved under Hinojosa, going from a 13-loss season in his first year to dropping just four games this year and making it to the regional tournament. Hinojosa is 186-60 overall and was recognized state-wide as the Region IV-6A outstanding coach by the Texas Association of Basketball Coaches.
The Falcons relied on an experienced senior core that has developed under Hinojosa to make their historic run. Hinojosa knew his group was different “because they were students of the game and they were a very disciplined group,” so the expectations were high from the start.
But the pressure, from inside the program and from outside spectators, didn’t faze the Falcons. Hinojosa and his staff did their part to prepare Los Fresnos for every contest and made the effort to connect with the players to help them reach their full potential.
“Coach Hinojosa is amazing, it’s crazy how much time he puts into it behind the scenes that nobody sees. He’ll watch film until 1 in the morning to help with our game plans. We have the best coaching staff in the (Rio Grande Valley,) and it starts with him,” freshman Gerry Martinez said.
The freshman phenom became one of the top players in the Valley in his varsity debut and credited the belief Hinojosa consistently showed in him as a reason for his success. Senior Ricky Altamirano was one of Los Fresnos’ leaders and also had high praise for his coach.
“He makes all of us grow while you’re with him,” Altamirano said. “You get mentally stronger with him always pushing you. If he knew you had potential, he would push you to your limits to see how far you could go.”
Altamirano is one of four starters and eight total seniors leaving holes Hinojosa will have to fill next season. He knows his Falcons are up to the task, and the tough-love system Los Fresnos employs will be in full effect.
“We are tough on the kids and demand a lot from them. We always say, ‘Only the strong survive,’” Hinojosa said. “But with us being hard on them, we are also fair and do what is best for the team. We focus on a lot of fundamentals and team chemistry. We feel that if you can have both, you can be competitive every year.”