By ROY HESS, Staff Writer
For guiding his team to a 28-0 record and the inaugural Class 6A state championship in boys soccer, Rivera’s Salvador Garcia is the obvious choice as RGVSports.com 2015 All-Valley Boys Soccer Coach of the Year.
Garcia just completed his 18th season directing the Raiders and boasts a 365-101-49 career coaching record. He was an assistant at Rivera for six years prior to his first season as head coach in 1998. The Raiders have qualified for the playoffs 23 of the past 24 seasons, previously advancing to state in 2005 and 2007.
This season, without a doubt, was their best.
Rivera was the Rio Grande Valley’s top-ranked team from start to finish, beginning as No. 1 when the season got under way in January and staying there through April 18, the day the Raiders defeated previously unbeaten Katy Cinco Ranch 2-0 in the 6A state final at Georgetown.
The Valley has won UIL state titles in soccer four times already, but it’s never been done by a Valley team with a perfect record until this year.
“We’ve been ranked No. 1 (in the Valley) to start the season several times before, but somehow we could never keep it that way until this year,” said Garcia, who is assisted by Andres Macias, Jose Dominguez and Jimmy Montalvo. “Our players were hungry, and they were willing to do what it takes to go all the way. They kept their intensity all the way through to the end.
“Yes, like every other team we had our ups and downs, but we always knew we needed to get something positive out of each game,” Garcia added. “When the moment comes, you have to take something positive out of the negative, and actually, we told the team that it really wasn’t something negative, it was a test that God was putting in front of us to see how we were going to react. We explained to them that all it was (in those challenging situations) was just a test.”
Isidro “Chelin” Martinez, Rivera’s senior attacking midfielder and the 2015 All-Valley player of the year, has been a four-year starter for Garcia, and he appreciates the guidance of his coach.
“Coach Garcia has taught us well,” Martinez said. “He’s someone you can look to for advice. He knows what he’s doing inside the field and outside the field, so he’s a special person to us. What we’ve done, it’s because he’s taught us how to reach our goals.
“He’s the one who should get most of the credit, even though he says the credit belongs to us (as players),” added Martinez, who will continue his soccer career playing at the University of Texas-Rio Grande Valley. “He definitely knows what he’s doing, and I’m really happy we were able to bring him a state championship.”
Garcia had his team thinking about winning state long before the season began as the players quickly learned the significance of April 18 (the last day of the season) even before they played their first game of 2015 in January.
The Rivera coach prefers to share the recognition that has come his way as a result of the memorable events and success his team experienced April 18.
“For me to take the credit for this (state championship) would be an injustice,” said Garcia, also the All-Metro and all-district coach of the year for 2015. “The credit goes to the other coaches and the players. I consider myself to be a good coach only, but that’s about it. When you add Macias, Dominguez and Montalvo (to our coaching staff), we are different coaches and much better as a whole.
“I think the (All-Valley) award should read ‘To the Rivera coaches,’ not to Coach Garcia, because at Rivera we are a family,” he added. “You can see that in the (school) hallways. We’re always preaching God, family, education. We are a family, and it starts with us as the coaches. Yeah, I’m the one out in front because I have the title of head coach, but it’s a team behind us. If the players look good, we (as coaches) look good.
“It’s nice (to receive awards) because at the end, it’s Rivera (getting the recognition). It’s always great to be recognized as the coach of the year, or (more appropriately) coaches of the year.”
Roy Hess covers sports for The Brownsville Herald. You can reach him via email at [email protected]. On Twitter he’s @HessRgehess.