Big 7 coaches on Paris games

The 2024 Summer Olympics have come and gone. About 30.6 million Americans on average watched the Olympics each day. This was an 82% increase from the Tokyo Olympics. World-wide, 1.5 billion people were expected to tune in to the Paris games to watch the 10,714 athletes from 206 countries that competed in one or more of the 329 events in 32 sports.

Among those 1.5 billion viewers were at least seven high school coaches from the Sharyland ISD. Coaches who at one time competed in and now coach some of the Olympic sports the world tuned in to watch. Coaches who took the time to share what the 2024 Summer Olympics meant to them.

The first of these coaches is actually a former coach. That’s because former Pioneer Diamondbacks cross-country coach, Dave Munson, who coached for 34 years, retired just over a year ago. However, since he was willing to share his thoughts on the U.S. track team with us, we’ve decided to share them with you.

“I had a great time coaching here in the Rio Grande Valley and I have many great memories with lots of different teams and schools,” Munson said. “I did watch the Olympics and I was really impressed with our USA track team. The distance runners represented better than ever. I would have to say Cole Hocker’s 1,500 meters performance was off the charts. The race was centered around Norway’s Jakob Ingebritsen and Great Britain’s Josh Kerr, but Hocker stuck to his guns and saw an opportunity and snuck in there. He ran the race of his life. He had me jumping up and down in my living room. I was really happy for USA distance runners!”

Sharyland High swimming and diving coach Tina Jensen has seen many of her swimmers and divers succeed on the district, area, regional and state levels over the years. Even so, she shared how emotional she got watching the American swimmers, divers and water polo players succeed.

“I have to say watching all the athletes on the greatest stage ever was so inspirational,” Jensen shared.  “Of course I watched swimming, diving and water polo, but of every single final across every single sport, the greatest moments for me were watching the gold medalists realize all their hard work, years of training, sacrifice and dedication had been worth everything.   The joy, pride, and simply their smiles make me so proud and impressed for every champion in living their dream. It was so well deserved. Being able to share their joy and dreams and happiness brought me to tears. And seeing such great accomplishment was so inspirational.”

While there were two races in particular that stood out for Pioneer boys’ track coach, Marcy de La Fuente, he believes the Olympics can be a great motivational tool for local high school athletes.

“I would say that the men’s 400 meter dash final was an amazing race, as was the men’s 110 meter hurdles,” de La Fuente said.” I love the Olympics because it shines a light on a sport that not many watch. These are incredible athletes performing against the best in the world! It’s great motivation for track and field athletes in our area to reach their full potential.”

Sharyland High boys’ track coach Dario Saenz enjoyed watching many of the Olympic events, but he enjoyed watching the track and field events the most.

“As the head track coach, I really enjoyed watching the track and field competitions,” Saenz said.” It’s amazing how dominating our USA team was. Great determination and just overall will to win that was exemplified by those athletes. I also enjoyed many other Olympic events such as basketball, gymnastics, swimming and even rugby.”

Sharyland High girls’ soccer coach Mario Ribera shared his thoughts on the Olympics from the perspective of someone not born in the U.S.

“Since I was a young person, I always watched the Olympics,” Ribera said. “Growing up in Bolivia, South America, it’s our dream to participate in the Olympics games. I really enjoyed watching the USA women’s soccer team winning the gold medal. These games and tournaments are every young player’s dream.”

Sharyland High wrestling coach Sam Mangum was disappointed in how the U.S. men’s wrestlers performed at the Olympics, but he was impressed with the U.S. women.

“I only really watched wrestling and Australian break dancing,” Mangum said. “I felt like the U.S. men’s wrestling team could’ve done a lot better. But Japan really exceeded expectations with their boys and girls, racking up eight gold medals. We had two female wrestlers win gold, which is a testament to how far women’s wrestling has come in the United States.”

“This Olympic year has been amazing to witness especially leading into the season,” Mangum continued. “It has played a big toll on our student-athletes by allowing them to see their role models compete in high pressure situations.”

Lady Diamondbacks’ girls cross country coach Brenda Lozano believes Olympic athletes can inspire high school athletes to excel.

“Our student-athletes, found inspiration in the Olympian’s stories,” Lozano said. “Those elite USA athletes really displayed the standard for others to follow! Our Pioneer XC/Track athletes know that there is a STANDARD that needs to be set for future Diamondbacks to follow! We are excited and eager for this year to start!”

The fact that Shaine Casas, a 2018 graduate of McAllen High School, qualified for the 2024 Olympics in the 4 x 50 meter medley swimming event, is proof of the fact that Valley athletes can compete at even the highest level of athletic competition if they have the talent and if they are committed enough to do whatever is necessary to make it to the top of their respective sport. Will we be seeing one of today’s Big 7 athletes in the Olympics in years to come? It is entirely possible. If this is to happen however, it will almost certainly be thanks to the dedication and commitment of one or more of the Sharyland, Mission or La Joya ISD coaches they have today. Possibly even one of the coaches featured here.