Will Garcia, middle, poses with his players. Las Cruces finished the season with a 5A title and just one loss.
Courtesy photo
From the moment he could walk,
Las Cruces (N.M.) softball coach Will Garcia had a ball or bat in his hands. His dad, Willie, made sure of that.
Last week Garcia was named the 2013 New Mexico High School Coaches Association Softball Coach of the Year, and he credits his father as being the greatest influence in his life.
"Every conversation we've had involving the game had a practical application to it," said Garcia, who guided the school to its first softball state championship in May, a 10-0 win over Cibola (Albuquerque) in the 5A title contest. "Every bit of advice he gave me, I ran with it."
Las Cruces had a season for the ages, winning its final 26 games en route to a 30-1 record and a No. 14 placing in the
MaxPreps Xcellent 25 National Softball Rankings. Garcia, who is 101-20 in four years at Las Cruces, said he was truly humbled to win the award.
"I was shocked when I found out (from NMHSCA Executive Director Thomas Mabrey)," Garcia said. "Shocked to not only win it, but also because I didn't even know the award existed. Down here in Las Cruces in the south part of the state, you don't really hear about too many things like this. But it's a huge honor, no doubt."
In the 5A state tournament, Las Cruces outscored five opponents by a combined margin of 59-6. More importantly, the Bulldawgs established themselves as one of the best teams in the nation. Their only loss came to in-state national powerhouse Piedra Vista (Farmington) on March 14, a defeat they avenged two days later, 1-0.
In separate interviews with MaxPreps, Garcia and Piedra Vista coach Kevin Werth expressed tremendous respect for one another, as both coaches have built powerhouse programs in separate and remote parts of the state -- Werth in the Four Corners region and Garcia in the south central part of the state near the Texas border.
"The best teams in New Mexico can compete with any teams in the country," said Garcia, who will be honored at the annual NMHSCA banquet on July 31 in Albuquerque. "We might not have the depth of quality teams as some states, but our best can match up with anyone's best."
Making this year's run all the more rewarding was the fact that the Bulldawgs had suffered some heartbreaking losses in the state tourney the last couple of years. However, Garcia knew there was something special about this year's squad, from the talent to its makeup.
"This year's team won the championship on the practice field," Garcia said. "Every drill we did, we did it 100 times so plays became second nature during the game."
Garcia has four children, including Nicole, whom he had at 15. When Garcia was a sophomore at Cedar Hills College in Texas, it gnawed at him that he was missing a huge part of his daughter's life. So he moved back to Las Cruces and made the natural transition to coaching softball because Nicole loved the sport.
"I just decided I couldn't be out of Nika's life, so I became a full-time father and coach," Garcia said.
