PHARR — The PSJA ISD school board approved the hiring of PSJA North assistant football coach Robert Valdez to become the school’s ninth baseball head coach in its history Thursday.
Valdez, an Edinburg High alumnus, has prior head coaching experience with stints at McAllen Memorial and Edinburg High.
“Anytime you have an opportunity to lead a group of young men and a coaching staff and have an impact in their lives, it’s always a tremendous honor. It’s an honor that a school district like PSJA will give you a chance to be in a leadership role, and I’m very blessed to be in this position,” Valdez said. “I look forward to the opportunity and the challenge.”
The position opened after PSJA North removed former baseball head coach Rene Soza following the conclusion of the 2022 season.
Valdez played baseball at Edinburg High and in junior college before transferring to play at Texas-Pan American under legendary head coach Al Ogletree. He then joined the staff as an assistant before becoming an assistant with the Edinburg Roadrunners.
He said he’s excited to lead the PSJA North baseball program after spending a season away from the diamond. Following his exit from Edinburg High following the 2021 season, Valdez served as a linebackers and track and field coach during the 2021-22 school year at PSJA North.
“There’s a lot of tradition within their community, and their baseball is something that the community takes seriously year-in, year-out,” he said. “I’m looking forward to getting the opportunity to build relationships with those young men that will come through the program, and we’ll see where we go. I coached against them during my 13 years at Edinburg High and they’re tremendous competitors, so I look forward to getting to work with them on an everyday basis.”
The Raiders are coming off a 17-11 season overall and 9-7 district record. The baseball team has narrowly missed the postseason the past two years, losing a pair of play-in games on the final day of the regular season. Now, PSJA North is set to move down to District 31-5A, a stacked district lined with playoff regulars.
“Some people may think I’m crazy because we’re going into that district where eight out of the 10 teams were in the playoffs last year. It’s going to be a dogfight, but those are the cards we were dealt and a challenge I look forward to,” Valdez said. “I’m very fortunate to be in this position. I hope I can begin by putting together a staff, and together collaboratively we can put a successful product back on the field. It’s going to be a challenge, but that’s where years of experience come in and I’m looking forward to getting this program to where it once was.”