That new building scent is still evident, strolling through the hallways of Iowa Colony High School. While that scent will eventually wear off, the memories created in the school’s inaugural year will always remain for faculty, student-athletes and Ray Garza.
For Garza, a man involved in many “firsts” for several schools, his first school year as an athletics director has been the most cherishable for the family man.
Garza was a coach at Manvel High when the northern Brazoria County school’s football program kicked off 15 years ago and was on Shadow Creek’s football staff when the Pearland-based high school christened its doors in 2016. In 2022, Garza’s third Alvin ISD school as a coach proved by far been his most memorable stop.
“Opening Shadow Creek and the experience there, the kids kind of knew what they were getting into, but they kind of don’t know what they are getting into because they haven’t experienced it,” Garza said. “To see the kids have the excitement whenever they did something like the first team to go to state or go to the playoffs, there is nothing like being the first, and for all the kids, it was their first, not just for a couple.”
USED TO THE NEW
Coaching at a new school is familiar to Garza. His hiring at Iowa Colony marked the third school within Alvin ISD that he would coach in its inaugural varsity season.
Garza graduated from Alvin High School in 2001 after playing under then-Yellowjackets’ head football coach and current Alvin ISD athletics director Mike Bass.
Garza certainly worked his way up the coaching ranks to get into the position he is in now.
He started as a seventh-grade track and field and eighth-grade football coach at Harby Junior High, intending to be a high school coach someday, he said.
Within a year, he was offered the defensive line coaching position at Manvel under his former high school position coach, Kirk Martin. He put in his best effort at Manvel to be the best coach he could be for his athletes, he said.
“I made sure the kids were prepared for the next level after me,” he said. “You always took a lot of pride when the kids would come back home from Christmas break, summer break and you would ask them what did you learn, what’s new, what did you learn that’s different? And the kids would say, ‘Not much different, coach. We’re doing a lot of the same stuff you already taught us, and the transition is easy for me.’ Then, I felt like we were in the right direction.”
From there, Garza wanted to grow from his position coaching role, eventually reaching defensive coordinator at Shadow Creek with fellow Manvel colleague Brad Butler, who led the Sharks. Garza felt blessed to be in that position because he already knew the district and who he was working for, so the transition was easier.
“I knew what type of man he (Butler) was, I knew what type of father he was and I knew what I was getting into,” Garza said. “It was still the same. I wanted to be the best that I could be. I want to do a good job for coach Butler and a good job for these kids.”
The next step of being the head coach is the ultimate goal for anyone, regardless of sport, Garza said.
“That should be a drive within you to have your own program,” he said. “I’m just grateful to do it in the same area and the same district and not have to move my family across the state. My wife, Emily, and our three kids, and I value wanting my kids to see me living my values throughout my job. I want my personal kids to have a stable home, and they are not far from their grandparents. So to do that in the same area is amazing.”
WHEN THE TOUGH GOT GOING
Like his predecessor Martin trying to get Manvel going, challenges arose for Garza.
Garza was hired as Iowa Colony’s head football coach and the school’s athletics director in December 2021. However, Iowa Colony High School was still under construction. Walls were still being put up, and walls already erected had no paint on them. The school’s fields were piles of dirt, and Garza had to work in an alternate location.
Welcome to the job, coach.
“It’s a lot easier to plan when you’re sitting in the building because you know what the spaces look like, and you can get the logistics of it when it comes to planning practices, sharing the facility and doing all those things,” Garza said.
That planning also included hiring coaches, which the district still does as the school grows.
“I’m hiring and communicating with coaches who are finishing jobs miles away, and we’re trying to coordinate not just our own particular sports but also the opening of the school, which there is a lot that goes into opening a school,” he said. “Especially when it comes to equipment in general. You have to order equipment, check equipment, and create systems that aren’t in place yet to ensure you have an inventory and where you’re going to put things.”
Garza ran into a scenario concerning equipment on the football team.
The program’s varsity jerseys were on back order, so the program had to dress three teams — freshman, junior varsity and varsity — with two sets of uniforms through the first couple of games, Garza said.
“I’d say it’s like any other job. You kind of think you’ve got an idea, but you don’t know until you get into the seat,” Garza said. “I’m still learning, and I’m still trying to get better at being a leader and somebody who can help others, not just the kids but also the coaches.
“And that’s a big passion of mine, to make sure I am a servant to not just my kids but to the people. But the direction we are going makes it a little less anxious.”
A SERVANT TO OTHERS
Garza was proud of the student-athletes in the school’s first year and how well they competed, including both basketball programs and Lady Pioneers soccer, each clinching a berth to the playoffs and the volleyball program coming a win away in a pair of play-in games.
Garza also had several student-athletes letter in four or five sports, including Katherine Canchola in cross-country, powerlifting, softball and track and field. Aden Saucedo also played four sports. He lettered in cross-country, track and field, golf and baseball.
“What an experience to play in four or five sports, but they put in the work to do that and stay on top of their academics,” Garza said.
A highlight for Garza many coaches don’t get to experience was giving nearly an entire football team their letterman jackets in March.
“That’s one of those experiences I will always cherish for the rest of my life,” Garza said. “We are finishing our boot camp, so it was perfect timing. … To pass those out and the excitement and energy out there, it was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, just like opening a school. You are not going to get that everywhere you go.”
As much as Garza has impacted student-athletes leading up to his position at Iowa Colony, the sports those athletes play have impacted the first-generation college graduate from Texas A&M and Lamar University.
“I love sports, and sports has opened a lot of doors for me,” Garza said. “Me and my brother were the first two kids in my family to go to college, and my grandmother is an immigrant from Mexico City, so that’s a big deal for me and my family to have a position like this.
“I look at it as at each level, I am affecting kids. As a junior high coach, I’m getting kids ready for high school. Then at high school, I’m getting them ready for varsity football; if not, life after me. As a coordinator, you have a group of men pl... Click here to read full article
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