Local teens serving community as flag football coaches in Los Indios

At first glance, Sal Mendoza Jr. and Rene Garcia are just two typical teenagers.

But what they’re doing this winter makes them anything but.

The two friends, who met as classmates at Rangerville Elementary, are now 13 and recently took on roles as coaches in the Los Indios NFL Flag Football League.

The teens joined up to coach the Jets team comprised of Los Indios, El Ranchito, La Paloma and San Benito-area kids ages 4-6.

So far, the squad has shown improvement and the coaches have learned a thing or two over the course of the season, which runs through mid-February.

“I thought coaching was gonna be easy, but coaching little kids has been a challenge,” Mendoza Jr. said. “But it pays off in the end.”

Garcia, a 7th grader at Riverside Middle School in La Paloma, agreed.

“It’s pretty different (from playing), but I kinda like it,” Garcia said. “I’m just teaching the things taught to me to the kids.”

While the idea of kids coaching kids is rare, the two have taken their responsibilities and run with them, Sal Mendoza, director of the Los Indios league said.

“It’s never too early to start giving back to the community and these kids are perfect examples of that,” said Mendoza, father of Sal Jr. and a Los Indios city alderman. “At their early age, they already feel that the community has given them something and they’re able to pass it down to the little ones. That’s a pretty cool thing to do.”

The started when the elder Mendoza, in the process of organizing teams, realized they were short a coach in the 4-6 division. The idea was sprung for the kids to take over. Soon, Sal Jr. called his buddy, Garcia, and they were off and running.

“They (the boys) asked if they could coach and help volunteer,” Mendoza said. “I gladly accepted and said ‘All the power to you guys’.”

They boys were eager to pass on the skills they learned during their time as players in the league.

“Rene and I have been part of the league for many years,” Mendoza Jr. said. “So we wanted to pass the stuff we learned to the kids so they could be good.”

Mendoza Jr. attends IDEA Academy in San Benito where he’s in the eighth grade. He plays basketball and often has to find time to fit in things like homework, basketball practice and his team’s practice.

“It’s been a real struggle to balance my time,” he said. “After practices, sometimes I get home, take a shower, do homework and go to sleep.”

Garcia and Mendoza Jr. are usually supervised by adults, mainly parents who help out during practices and at games.

“They’re pretty good with me. I thought they’d maybe take advantage of me since I’m a kid, but they’re good,” Mendoza Jr. said of the parents.

“In practice they watch and root for the kids,” Garcia said. “They give us a lot of support.”

The Jets won their first game of the year and have improved over the course of the last month with the youngsters at the helm.

“Actually, the refs were pretty surprised that Sal and I were coaching the kids,” Garcia said. “Everybody was pretty surprised when we won that first game and they were coached by teenagers.”

Taking on their different roles has taught each of the boys lessons in dealing with youths and shown them what their coaches experience on a daily basis.

“You gotta have patience, especially with the little kids,” Mendoza Jr. said. “But they’re getting faster and they can catch the ball. They’re getting the hang of it.”

Garcia said keeping the players focused can be difficult at times, and also said patience is key.

“It’s a challenge,” Garcia said. “Sometimes my coaches get mad when we’re distracted. So now I get the feeling of trying to get the kids on task. Sometimes, their mind just flies away and they get distracted. But you just get their attention and they listen.”

Frustrations aside, the kids are enjoying themselves and plan to do it again next year. Mendoza hopes they’ll start a trend.

“I look at the people’s reactions when these kids are on the field and everybody’s got a smile on their face,” Mendoza said. “We want to extend it to other kids who might want to follow their lead.”