GREG LUCA | STAFF WRITER
LA JOYA — Reuben Farias kicked off his first practice as the head football coach at La Joya High on Monday with a simple message.
Having coached the Coyotes receivers and specials teams the past three years, he already knows the ins and outs of the program. He isn’t coming in with intentions of making a complete overhaul, so he’s keeping his instructions uncomplicated as La Joya takes its first steps toward the start of the 2016 season.
“It’s a new year, expectations are high, and each day, improve,” Farias said. “Improve in any way. Learn something, and become a better football player each day.”
That’s not to say Farias doesn’t have his own vision for the program. Coming off a 3-7 season during which an injury-riddled squad lost three consecutive games down the stretch to fall shy of the playoffs, Farias wants the Coyotes to get back to running the ball more on offense.
The teaching approach is slow and straightforward. At Monday’s practice, La Joya focused solely on three plays. Farias said he plans to add one more on Tuesday.
Above all else, Farias’ goal since taking over the position has been to get his players on the same page mentally.
“Whenever we take a break, or when we’re just resting on the sideline, just communicate,” junior quarterback Irving Garcia said.
After the Coyotes offense finished last in District 30-6A in 2015 with 119 points, Garcia expected a change. What he didn’t expect was that former coach George Espinoza would be reassigned.
Although Espinoza finished his four-year tenure 10-31, he led the program to its first playoff appearance since the La Joya ISD split after the 2007 season and helped increase the roster total from 48 before he arrived, to 65, and then to 135.
“I was a little bit surprised,” Garcia said. “Maybe they would change the offense, but I didn’t think they were going to change the coach.”
Senior linebacker Rey Hernandez said he was also caught off guard by the news. When the word first came down, Farias saw that many of the older players were disappointed and upset.
From the start, he advised the group that the only option was to accept the change and move forward. When he was named as the head coach, the continuity within the program made that process easier. Chemistry and communication had already been established on both sides of the ball.
“I liked that. It was someone that we knew,” Hernandez said. “Over the past three years, we got to know who he was, so we were happy that he got the program.”
Farias credited the leadership of Hernandez, Garcia, Tito Delgado and Leo Garza for easing the transition. While the roster numbers are a little low to start, Farias said he is confident the total would increase as more players returned from summer jobs.
His goals for the year are a playoff berth, a 5-5 record, and 21 points per game on offense. The journey to get there, at least on Day 1, was mostly business as usual.
“It’s pretty much the same thing (as last year),” Garcia said. “He’s been my coach already. I already have experience with him. It’s not a new thing. It’s pretty much the same as last year, just a little bit harder. And get better every day.”