Many of the baseball players come from working families who spend long hours in the sun and work in the fields in the farming community of San Luis, a border town south of Yuma on Arizona’s southwestern tip. is.
High school games in the middle of the afternoon can make it difficult to see your sons play.
But I’ll be there when I can. Celebrate the passion of your children and see the joy on their faces when they win. While this is a common occurrence, it is also often played against much larger schools in the Phoenix area.
“What we want to establish is the idea of family,” said Principal Robert Jankowski, who spent 18 years at San Luis High School, the first nine years as a teacher and six years as athletic director. “I think our sports teams have embraced that. This is our family. They are teammates who go to war together. Their brothers, sisters. They have embraced it. It’s It’s the strong support they get from it.
“We are a very small community. Yuma and Somerton are 20 miles apart. So these kids grew up together. Either here or across the border in the league.”
In 2016, San Luis High School qualified for the Division III State Baseball Championship, but lost 3-2 to the Phoenix Alhambra. It was the school’s only baseball state final appearance.
This year, the men’s soccer team reached the 6A state final for the first time in three years, but lost 2-0 to the Valley’s big school, Gilbert Perry. In 2021, the Sidewinders also qualified for the championship game at 6A, but lost to Phoenix Brophy Prep on penalty kicks after a 1–1 draw in regulation and two overtimes.
San Luis has been close among the top-ranked teams in men’s 6A football in recent seasons, but has never won a state championship in any sport.
But that never stops the thrill, support, and pride on behalf of the community that is used to seeing news from Phoenix dealing with border issues. It helped me show something more positive.
Jesús Rojas, a soccer coach who grew up in a border town and played soccer in high school, said: “Many parents work late into the night. They are supportive and really appreciate that their children can be healthy and safe in the afternoon.
“Teachers and community members are proud to hear the news from Phoenix and Tucson that they are talking about the San Luis High School sports program and not other issues they may face in border towns.”
Young talent blooming near the border
The baseball team has produced talented players who went on to college. Most recently, pitcher Gabriel Ponce, who was born in San Luis and graduated in 2017, was born in Yuma, Arizona. named Jays.
Perhaps the most famous footballer is Irving Garcia, a 5-foot-5 tall Dynamo who played for San Luis in the mid-2000s before playing for Yavapai College and then UC Irvine before being drafted in the fourth round of the Major League Baseball. I was. 2010 football by the New York Red Bulls.
“I recruit from the football cut,” said Jankowski, who led the wrestling program at some point during his tenure in San Luis. “I knew the athletes who didn’t make the soccer team were very athletic. I knew they were into the sport. I turned them into wrestlers. , they can enter the state.”
San Luis, located in Yuma County, has grown to about 35,000 people. It recently made news that he has applied for $25 million in federal funding to expand and upgrade a five-mile (5-mile) stretch of Cesar Chavez Boulevard that connects the two ports of entry.
Many of the athletes have extended families to Mexico while living in San Luis, Arizona. The high school is just over two miles from the border. The city, bordering Mexico, is lined with homes and businesses and stands with its back to the fence.
Of the approximately 2,600 students in high school, 90% are eligible for free or reduced lunches.
“I don’t know how many immigrated or if their parents immigrated or when they settled here in the United States,” said Jankowski, who is in his first full year as principal. The reason why you can cross the border with care is because there may be many families there.
“It’s a very close community. They have families here. But they also have grandmas and grandpas or uncles and aunts. Really a lot of our players it’s part of their family they were baseball players or soccer players the league they might play (in Mexico) I might play with my aunt.
During a recent game against National Jaguar Chandler Hamilton, the players spoke to each other in Spanish on the field, motivating and communicating with each other in the relay and fly ball.
After a 16-6 loss that dropped the Sidewinders to 10-3, coach Cesar Castillo spoke to them in English.
“We are much better than that,” he said. “We have to do better. We play. It’s a different ball game. We have to come back.”
Castillo is missing three pitchers and found that playing against the Valley’s top program could help his team avoid an early exit late in the playoffs.
“We were down very early on, so we did a good job of putting the ball in play and not giving in,” Castillo said. It changes the whole ball game. We talk about being ready for the first pitch, and today we weren’t ready.”
All year round “It’s a passion”
Soccer was canceled at the end of 2013 after the school lost 56 games in a row due to falling numbers. Baseball and soccer are the two major sports in San Luis.
“They are playing with passion,” Castillo said. “This is a different style of baseball. I lived and died with them for these 20 years.”
Many of them travel to Mexico for weekends to visit relatives or to play baseball or soccer leagues when the high school season ends.
Star baseball player Ernesto Ochoa said he came to San Luis from Mexico when he was six years old.
“Baseball is very big and very important,” said Ochoa, the senior utility player who doubled against Hamilton. “We love baseball. That’s why we’re here. In the offseason we play in Mexico. It’s year-round. It’s a passion.”
Sophomore catcher Cesar Cavira started playing baseball when he was eight years old. It was a way to find a way out and a future in the post-high school game. He also plays baseball in Mexico outside of his high school season.
“Competition is better here,” he said. “I think this is a good team and they can go a long way.”
Over the last few years, many San Luis coaches and parents have invested time and effort into positively focusing the youth’s energy, according to Rojas.
“There wasn’t much to do in San Luis, Arizona, so the students were going to Mexico only in the afternoons and on weekends,” he said. “Since things aren’t so safe on the Mexican side of the border, some coaches have decided to join or create clubs and travel teams.
“When kids enter high school, many of them have played together for a long time, so it’s easy to build the team chemistry that’s sorely needed for a successful program.”
That camaraderie is evident on baseball teams, with most teams playing together for life. Castillo said he is not worried about his players getting into trouble.
“Our kids have no problems. It’s the border town we’re in. All the troubles are going on in Mexico, but we’re fine.”
As San Luis made it to the state football finals this year, Rojas noticed all the alumni who came to see his team face off against Perry in the title match at Mesa. It reminded him of why San Luis is so special.
“It was like a reunion because so many former San Luis players, students, teachers and community members came out to support the team,” Rojas said. Ka said it was great to see so many old friends, colleagues and students, and the pride she felt for her team and community made it all possible.”
To suggest human interest story ideas or other news, please contact Obert atrichard.obert@arizonarepublic.com or 602-316-8827. follow him on twitter@azc_obert
