By ROY HESS, Staff Writer
Brownsville Jubilee continues to make an impact during its inaugural school year of University Interscholastic League athletic competition after previously playing in a Texas charter school league.
Earlier this school year, Jubilee captured district titles in volleyball plus boys and girls basketball.
In soccer this season, Jubilee’s boys were District 32-4A champions and the girls were 32-4A co-champions. The Titans, 17-1-2 overall, claimed the district title with a 13-1-2 record.
The Lady Titans were 32-4A co-champions with Rio Hondo. The Jubilee girls, 18-1 on the season, finished tied for first place with the Lady Bobcats as each went 17-1 in district with 51 points.
As with other UIL spring sports, the soccer season is in limbo right now. The UIL has suspended all games and even practices due to a heightened concern regarding the COVID-19 coronavirus.
Originally in soccer, the playoffs were scheduled to begin at the end of March.
Schools aren’t even in session right now, and the possibility of spring sports continuing is beginning to look more unlikely day by day.
Still, the Jubilee boys and girls would like to play. They’re proud of capturing district titles, and they don’t want to see it end there with the possibility of the playoffs still ahead of them.
“I’m honored to be a player in this soccer program,” said Sebastian Pulido, a defender and senior team captain for the boys squad. “I’ve been a part of the soccer program here for four years. It’s great to be in UIL now and win a district title. We were able to dominate (in 32-4A) and show what we can do. This team is based on dedication (to the sport).”
Added Eduardo De Ledesma, a junior utility player for the Titans, “For me, it means a lot to be part of this team. Everyone has put so much dedication into it, and we managed to get the district title. We like the way the sport of soccer is, and we play with a will to win.”
Besides Pulido and De Ledesma, who plays mostly defender, other members of the Titans’ starting lineup are Cameron Davila at goalkeeper, Rafael Palomo and Jose Gallegos at defender, Diego Araujo, Noe Robledo, Daniel Morales and Kevin Ramirez in the midfield, and Luis Garza and Fabian Covarrubias at forward.
Key contributors off the bench include midfielder Luis Vergara and defender Diego Garza.
Roberto Coronado is in his second year coaching the Jubilee boys in varsity soccer. He previously coached the Titans on the subvarsity level, so many of the players already knew him before he became the varsity coach.
“Most of the guys have been with me since middle school, so I knew them before they came to the varsity,” Coronado said. “Together we’ve made a better team. Most of the players were used to the system I have.
“At one time soccer was not a very big thing here at our school, but in Brownsville, soccer is, like, the main sport, so we had to make it happen,” he added. “The players wanted to make it happen. We struggled a little bit last year, but this year we’ve had a complete team with about 20 players on the varsity, and it has worked.
“I give a lot of credit to our players. They know about soccer and what soccer success should be. Soccer is (now) something we like to play here.”
The same holds true for the Jubilee girls soccer squad.
“This year we switched some of the players’ positions because my assistant coach and I thought it would give us a better chance to score, and it did,” said Jennie Maldonado, the Lady Titans’ first-year coach. “We have a very versatile team. We could put a player in any position, and she would do her job.
“(Winning a district title my first year as coach) is very exciting, and it’s very humbling, too,” Maldonado added. “This was a successful program before, and I came on (as coach), and I had a great group of girls. It was a little rough at first having the girls gain my trust, but it’s worked out. Winning district in our first year in UIL is just very humbling, and it’s an honor, too.
“This team is young and eager (to win). It’s a team that constantly wants to be the best it can be. I think that constant desire to be better is what has made the difference for us this season. The players have that drive, and they’ve pushed themselves to be great.”
Seeing action in the lineup for the Lady Titans are Katherine Barraza at goalkeeper, Luz Gallegos at stopper, Paula Vargas at sweeper, fullbacks Sofia De La Torre, Stephanie Aguilar and Grecia Almaguer, center/defensive midfielders Pricila Hernandez and Alejandra Perez, wings Sandra Garza, Julissa Garza and Leslie Barrera, attacking midfielder/forward Corina Arizmendi, and forwards Mariana Espinosa and Angela Quintero.
“Playing at Jubilee for three years, it means a lot (to be on this team), especially since it is my senior year,” Luz Gallegos said. “Winning district as a player on this team means our hard work, skill, talent and perseverance as a team has been paying off.
“We played with our heart each game, and for me, that was enough,” she added. “It is an amazing accomplishment (to win district) that my teammates and I definitely earned.
“We could not have done it without our coaches this season. They were a big part of it as our supporters, and they taught us what it is to be a soccer player.”