By STEFAN MODRICH | Staff Writer
A playlist comprised almost exclusively of Drake’s greatest hits pulsated in the background as players trickled out to the field at Rivera High School and began to warm up in the peak of the Wednesday afternoon sun.
Then, there is a whistle, and a reminder.
“We don’t walk here!”
The booming voice of Raiders defensive coordinator Hugo Ramirez is a crucial component of Rivera’s new formula, which involves a hypothesis that has been tested to some extent (in some cases with great success, as Tom Herman did in his brief stint as head coach at the University of Houston) at the highest levels of amateur and professional football: less yelling, more engaging.
Raiders head coach Beto Leal is well aware of the program’s failures in recent years, but he and his staff are embracing the clean slate they are operating with as they coach this year’s Rivera squad.
“The coaches are all upbeat,” Leal said. “Administration has been really supportive, as far as getting kids out here.”
The Raiders are not eschewing old-school discipline entirely. But their approach is radically different in a few key ways, most notably in cultivating the relationships between the players and the staff, like Ramirez (the former Lopez defensive coordinator) and David Torres, the offensive coordinator who mentored Victor Campos as the quarterbacks coach for Hanna.
Senior left tackle Josue Ramirez said that outreach has been noticeable with Leal at the helm of the program.
“They made it a community, they made it a family,” Ramirez said. “These coaches, they just took it to the next level with that brotherhood.”
Defensive end/tackle Jorge Perez has observed that the interactions between players and staff have been more collaborative under the new regime.
“With our old coaches it was: ‘Pay attention, keep your helmets on, shut up,’” Perez said. “If we have problems with our defense, we tell them, ‘hey coach, this isn’t working,’ and they’ll listen to us.”
Still, Rivera is emphasizing “energy and accountability” and trying to build a culture that allows players to have agency and collective responsibility for the successes and failures of the group, with principles that Leal says apply in interactions with trainers and staff on the field to demeanor and behavior in the classroom.
Leaders like wide receiver Elian Hernandez, one of the top wideouts in the Rio Grande Valley, could be pivotal in helping the Raiders execute their turnaround and set up the program for success in the long term.
Leal noted that defensive tackle Bryant Ponce will be out for tonight’s game against Brownsville Veterans with a shoulder injury, but he expects him to return in time for district play. The Raiders are solid defensively, with senior middle linebacker Gabriel Cuellar and senior cornerback Kevin Diaz anchoring the unit.
“We like being the underdog,” Leal said. “We’re going to turn some heads.”