DENNIS SILVA II | STAFF WRITER
MISSION — There have been a couple of timely epiphanies for Sharyland Pioneer senior Alec Garcia.
The first came during his eighth grade year. Garcia struggled athletically as a seventh-grader, so he started to work more on his legs. He did more speed training, and the result was a running a time of 53 seconds in the 400-meter dash. It drew attention.
“College coaches came at me to keep it up,” Garcia said. “So I’ve been working on that ever since.”
The more recent branch of enlightenment came this summer when Garcia was a fully-invested participant of the Diamondbacks’ strength and conditioning program.
“He worked hard during the summer and really put in time,” senior captain and offensive lineman Fernie Perez said. “In recent years, there were guys who wouldn’t come to strength and conditioning, and he was a part of that group. But he was a leader this summer, someone who motivated us each day and kept on us like, hey, this is our last year and we have to get it together if we want to be somebody.”
If Pioneer, 2-1 heading into next week’s game against Laredo Nixon, is able to do just that, Garcia will play a big role. In fact, he’ll play many big roles.
The 5-foot-10, 145-pounder is the Diamondbacks’ jack-of-all-trades. A starter since his sophomore year, during the program’s inception, Garcia is primarily used as a receiver and returner, but also plays quarterback and is used out of the backfield as well. Last season, he was the team’s punter.
This season, in three games, Garcia has rushed five times for 103 yards, caught 13 passes for 87 yards and three touchdowns, and returned two kicks for 52 yards.
In all, Garcia has 242 all-purpose yards.
“It’s a matter of helping the team out wherever they need me,” Garcia said. “This is my last year and I have to go out on a bang. I don’t want this program to take a step backward my last year. We want to get our names out there, make the playoffs and get better and better each week.”
That mentality and sense of urgency are new looks for Garcia. Before, coach Jason Wheeler said, he was content relying upon his talent. He didn’t take offseason work seriously. Garcia had a better sophomore season than junior season, as red of a flag as any for a young player.
But something clicked for Garcia this offseason.
“He had a great summer,” Wheeler said. “He got in the weight room, and he just wants to do whatever he can to help the team. He’s always had a lot of athletic ability, but he’s really matured mentally. He’s become a leader. He’s become a really good practice player. I think he understands this is his last year to leave a legacy.”
Since the day he stepped onto the Pioneer campus, Garcia was always one of the Diamondbacks’ most talented players, along with former linebacker Joe Garza. Wheeler says he is “one of the top-five fastest kids in the Valley.” But it’s helped that as Pioneer has established itself, so has the talent.
Garcia now finds himself alongside other gifted players like quarterback Jacob Rosales, running backs Christian Rivera and Michael Benavides, and receivers Bobby Acosta and Mike Madrigal.
“We’re out there competing against each other,” Garcia said. “We compete to see who gets more touchdowns, who gets more receiving yards. We just have fun, do our thing and compete every week to see who’s going to be the top dog.”
In turn, however, the influx of skill has refined Garcia’s job description.
“We don’t want to spread him too thin,” Wheeler said. “Right now, we don’t want to put too much on his plate. He’s fine scoring points for us. We pulled him from quarterback mostly because it limits his thinking.
“He can be more of an athlete out there and it’s more natural than trying to read somebody and run it or throw it.”
Playing cornerback is very much on Garcia’s to-do list. While he thinks track and field is his best ticket to a collegiate athletic career, he feels defensive back is his best route if he wants to play football at the next level.
Garcia is hungry to play a team against which he can line up at cornerback and get out in coverage to showcase his speed even more.
“I went to a camp this summer and a team told me I’d be the best fit for their team if I played corner,” Garcia said. “It was (Florida State).”
Either way, everything is pointing in a positive direction for Garcia. As coaches like to say of maturing athletes, he’s “put it all together.”
“If we can just get him the ball in space, he’ll take it from there,” Perez said. “He helps the team wherever the coaches put him. He just has to have the mentality to dominate, because no matter where he lines up, he’s going to put points on the board for us.”