From Friday Night Lights to Saturday Morning Coaching

Ramon Ortiz & Matthew Olvera Are Leopard Sr. Football Players & Also Coaching an Optimist Soccer Team this Fall

After a long day of classes followed by football practice, most players head home for some well-deserved rest.

But twice a week La Grange seniors Ramon Ortiz and Matthew Olvera head straight from football practice over to White Rock Park for another practice, where the duo (who are also varsity soccer stars at LHS) are coaching an Optimist Club soccer team of 5th-8th graders.

This Friday Ortiz and Olvera will play for the Leps in their football home opener, and then Saturday morning they have their coaching debut with their team, The Red Bulls, as the Optimist season begins.

For setting an admirable standard of hard work, we’re proud to honor Ramon Ortiz and Matthew Olvera as this week’s Fayette County Athletes of the Week.

We caught up with these guys Tuesday night, after their 12-hour day of class, football and soccer.

So whose idea was it to coach this team?

Ortiz: “It was our last year and we love soccer. Why not give back to the community we’ve been playing in since we were little kids? I told my buddy Matthew, ‘let’s do a team’ and we’re here now.”

Olvera: “I wanted to as well and I said, ‘let’s do it.’”

What memories do you have of playing Optimist Soccer yourself?

Ortiz: “I remember the pizza parties afterward.”

Olvera: “Playing with my friends and making more friends doing it.”

What’s the best part of coaching these kids?

Ortiz: “I get to see my younger self. I’m a goal keeper and I see myself and little mistakes I can fix too. I’m also learning.”

Olvera: “It’s fun teaching kids to love the sport I love.”

What’s the hardest part of coaching?

Ortiz: “Sometimes they don’t listen.”

Olvera: “What’s the saying, ‘you can lead a dog to water but you can’t make him drink.’ You can teach these kids about the sport, but you can’t make them fall in love with it like we did.”

Y’all had a great start to the football season last week, beating Cameron 41-14 in the season opener. What do you think about that game and the football season so far?

Ortiz: “I feel like the game was really good. We’re still learning, trying to get ready for the next game.”

Olvera: “I love watching football, and since I started playing it I really admire it ... nobody knows how hard we’ve been working.”

You’re both seniors, what are your plans for after graduation?

Ortiz: “I want to go to a trade school to study diesel mechanics or to be an airline mechanic.”

Olvera: “I plan on going to college, maybe get a degree in accounting or finance – something in math.”