The Española Valley boys basketball team is riding high these days after beating Clovis and Hobbs last weekend in back-to-back road games. Sundevils’ fans are excited that this may be the year their school wins its first boys basketball state championship.
The boys teams is ranked second in the state and not too far behind is the girls team, which is ranked third.
However, if it seems like the athletic program at Española is rolling right along, think again. The boys team has had to suspend three players this month and coach Richard Martinez’s mother’s home was attacked by arsonists as well.
And the ever unstable football team has been rocked by departures.
Española has had three football players transfer to McCurdy after this past season, including starters Jared Daniels and Ricky Bustos and substitute Kevin Curren. Football is taken seriously at McCurdy and strongly supported by the school and alumni. Playing for McCurdy, a player knows he has a good chance of getting to play in the state playoffs. Granted it may be a lower class, but winning is winning at any level. If these players remain and play at McCurdy, look for the Bobcats to be strong next fall.
One additional departure is still up in the air.
Sundevil football coach Bill Moon was rumored to be not returning for a third season. I gave him a call and he said he has not resigned, but has offered to come back under the conditions he was originally hired. The conditions were teaching three courses on a specific schedule, including two history courses and an athletic class on football. It also included being paid as a teacher with 23 years of experience and that the school have an athletic trainer. He said he didn’t know if his offer had been accepted, neither did Athletic Director Theresa Flores.
Moon would also like to see some improvements made to the Sundevil facilities.
While teams the Sundevils face opponents like Capital and Taos that are now playing on nice artificial fields, the Sundevils have a beaten up grass field. In addition, it’s the only football field in the entire town and the football team has to share it with other football teams and the Sundevil soccer teams.
The press box at the football field is a disaster. I’m not saying this because I have to use it. Since I have to be on the sideline taking pictures, I spend very little time in the press box, but when I do go up there at halftime I realize I’m not missing much.
Some investment and visible improvement to the football facilities would go a long way toward improving the image of the football team and perhaps encourage greater participation. A new football field should be a priority for the school district.
Española has a budding youth football program. I wonder how many will want to play for the Sundevils when they reach high school age if the facilities haven’t been improved and Española still hasn’t had a winning season.
Another coach that I heard had resigned was Española track coach Matthew Abeyta. He indeed has resigned, over differences with Flores (see related story).
It has always bothered me that Española has never been very successful at track. Abeyta looked like he was generating some interest in the sport among younger students and last year’s track team featured a lot of underclassmen. He’s a dedicated coach, so something must have happened for him to choose to resign.
It was just six years ago that a new track was built at the high school, but very little has been done since then. It’s sad to see that track being eaten away at by the elements. It would be great if that track was cleaned up and the Sundevils perhaps hosted a track meet. Track and football are two sports that can be a source of relatively high numbers of student participation. Basketball, by its very nature, is limited to relatively small numbers of participants. As great as it is that the boys — and let’s not forget the girls — basketball programs have been so successful, it would be much better if the more students participated in athletics. Improving and investing in other sports should be a priority for the school district.