By Brian Argabright
The 830 Times
When searching for a new head coach for your sports program, familiarity with the program, the community and a desire to not just improve the team, but to develop the players as people are high on the list of things recruiters and interviewers look for.
In the case of the Del Rio Queens basketball program, they couldn’t have found a better choice for a new head coach than native Del Rioan Marisa Soto.
Soto, 30, has been a part of the Del Rio basketball coaching tree for the past eight years, but her roots with the program stretch back even further.
“I knew I wanted to be a coach in some fashion since I was little. I knew since I was in second grade. I came to one of the Queens basketball camps and I told my mom afterwards that I wanted to do what they’re doing. I wanted to be a coach. She told me I had to be a teacher. As a teacher, she wanted her kids to be teachers, too. I loved sports and athletics and then learned I could be a PE teacher and a coach? That was perfect for me!” Soto said.
Soto was a four-year starter for the Queens during her time as a student at Del Rio High. She earned all-district honors three of those years, including being named to the first team as a junior and senior. After graduating in 2009, she attended Texas State University where she graduated in 2013 with a degree in exercise and sports science. She was hired as a coach in Del Rio later that year and has been here ever since.
“This is my dream job right now. It’s humbling and an honor to be back here. I’ve been thankful the last eight years to walk these halls and be a part of a few programs under the basketball coaches here. But it’s a little more meaningful to be the head coach. I have so much pride in Del Rio athletics and our basketball program,” Soto said. “It’s exciting, and I’m excited to give back to these kids. I’m a product of this school, of this program … I cried, I sweat, I played here. As a former athlete, I understand where they’re coming from.”
Soto began her coaching career as the freshmen Queens coach under then-head coach Ken Hefner. Cutting her teeth as a head coach meant learning the ins and outs of not just what happened on the court, but what affected her players off the court as well.
“There were definitely some trying times. It made me realize I have a lot less control of what goes on the court as a coach then as an athlete. I had to build relationships with the kids so they could trust me and trust the program,” Soto said. “It was a tough year, but it was very humbling and made me realize that it’s not just about the X’s and O’s. Kids don’t care about what you know until you show them you care, and that made me realize that’s the first step. That’s the first pillar in success.”
Prior to applying for the head coaching position during this summer, Soto had a chance to step into the head coach’s shoes last season when she served as interim head coach for one game while then-head coach Chris Jost was out due to a suspension.
“It was pretty nerve wracking. That night before the game I probably got two hours of sleep. I knew all the right calls and how to make the proper adjustments. For every possible thing that could have happened I wanted to make sure it was what Jost would have done. Once the game started, once that whistle blew, it made me realize that at the end of the day basketball was still basketball. The only difference was that I was coaching the top kids in our program, which was pretty exciting,” Soto said. “We competed from start to finish. They worked their butts off, and it was reassuring to me that no matter what level you’re coaching it’s all the same game.”
“(Those girls) went to battle for me, and it was reassuring to me that I could do this. I always knew my goal was to be head coach for Del Rio, but it was cool to see it happen then. It was an unfortunate circumstance, but to see that I could do it definitely was an experience. To have coach Jost trust me to step up and fill in … that meant a lot,” Soto added.
After Jost announced he was leaving Del Rio to take the head coaching job in San Saba, Soto made a list of pros and cons as to why she should apply for the Queens head coaching job. She said simply, “I felt that this was the time. Who knew when I would get this opportunity again?”
Soto went through the application process and waited like all the other candidates. Her first goal was to get the interview, and she did that. Admittedly nervous, Soto said it was the words of her nephew that helped calm her when she learned she would get her interview opportunity.
“I asked my nephew what I should tell the interviewers about being a coach. He said, ‘Tell them you want the players to know they have to work hard, they have to pass their classes and they have to be kind.’ That’s pretty solid advice from a first grader,” Soto said.
As she walked into Walmart here one day with her nieces, she got a phone call from a San Felipe Del Rio CISD number. Not knowing how she’d react to the news, she quietly pulled her nieces aside and said that no matter what happened if they were on their best behavior, she would buy them a candy.
She answered the phone call and was told she had been offered the women’s basketball head coaching job.
“It took everything not to cry or scream or just go bonkers in Walmart. I was so overjoyed. I teared up and walked outside,” Soto said. “It was a surreal moment. I couldn’t believe it. This is what I wanted when I started coaching. I was super thankful I had this opportunity because now I can give back to our community and more so to our basketball program. It was one of those moments I will never ever forget.”
“I care about these kids as people, not just as athletes. It’s just really neat how people started reaching out and congratulating me. I’m talking people in our basketball community. It’s like a sisterhood. Getting some of those phone calls from my basketball sisters … that’s the kind of what I want to build going forward. I want these girls to give relentless effort while building that culture of sisterhood,” Soto said. “My main goal is to have these girls compete at the highest level we can. I also want to build life long learners out of this group. These kids that are going out into world … I want them be successful people, not just athletes. I had some great coaches when I was in high school, nothing but amazing. They were my mentors and guided me through some of the toughest parts of my life. My biggest goal is to empower these young ladies in every aspect of life, and to help them develop great self-esteem, high character and a great work ethic.”
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Contact the author at drnhsports@gmail.com
