Home › First Baptist Volleyball › PrepZone
PrepZone: Immokalee led by one of its own
More PrepZone 
Share and Enjoy 
IMMOKALEE — It was a simple thing, really, Israel Gallegos beckoning all 73 Immokalee Indians into his first circle as a head coach.
It may have looked downright ordinary, in fact, the made-for-TV shot of the coach standing under a cloudless May sky, promising glory with good grades, history with hard work and so forth.
Only to an Indian — and there were scores of them, watching from parked pickups next to the practice field — this was so much more.
This was one of their own, proof in bright red that every word he spoke could come true.
“He is Immokalee,” said senior Patrick Bastien, chosen as one of four captains for Gallegos’ inaugural season. “He’s not someone who would go to another school for money. His heart is here. It’s always been here. He’s one of the few people we can relate to.”
It’s true.
Gallegos, less than a week removed from his 39th birthday, knows exactly what it’s like to be an Immokalee player.
He grew up here, and like every boy raised in this tight-knit farming town on the edge of the Everglades, he spent his time dreaming of Friday nights and the day he’d be under the lights.
“We don’t have a bowling alley. We don’t have a movie theater. We don’t have anything,” Gallegos said. “When Friday comes around, people want to see a game. They want to be entertained. They want to see the boys play. This is tradition.”
That’s why Thursday was so sweet.
Sure, it was the first time in 11 years that John Weber’s gravelly voice wasn’t heard to start spring practice, but that truth wasn’t nearly as hard as it could have been.
After all, tradition was preserved when Gallegos was named as successor on March 7.
“The only difference,” said Sadath Jean-Pierre, another senior captain, “is that Coach Web was a little slimmer. Really. That’s it. Coach Weber had a flair about him and a passion for this game, but Coach Izzy has that, too. He knows about hard work and he knows what it takes to get the job done. It’s the right fit — like matching this team up with its daddy.”
Like a father, Gallegos wanted to see every baby step his program took on its first day.
Part of that was by choice — after all, the former offensive coordinator was in charge after 14 years as an assistant at his alma mater — but mostly, his shuffling was by necessity.
He has just four assistants so far (including his brother, defensive coordinator Lamar, and cousin John, who’s running the defensive line and tight ends), meaning that he barely had time for a water break on Thursday.
“Thank God for the breeze,” he said with a laugh. “It doesn’t feel like May.”
It did feel like the Indians, who have been to the state playoffs in eight of the past nine years, picked up right where they left off, though, a family reunion on a football field if ever there was one.
“This a big ol’ boiling pot,” Jean-Pierre said. “We’ve got every type of person here, and we all grew up together watching each other’s back. No one else is gonna do it, so we have to.”
After an opening stretch dotted with giddy screams, Gallegos broke off with his undersized-but-intense offensive linemen, while the skill positions did their thing on an opposite end of the team’s practice field.
The Indians again will be loaded with athleticism, though someone has to establish himself as the successor to Carl Elie at tailback (Darius Deloach and Green Cummings both return next year), while Jean-Pierre will be among the top targets for new quarterback Fidel Herrera.
First things first, though, and these Indians have to establish an on-field unity as strong as their bond off it.
To do that, Gallegos will stress accountability, telling his players during that opening huddle that the last 20 days in the classroom are more important than the 14 left on the field.
No excuses, no explanations.
That’s Gallegos’ motto.
“I’m not gonna take credit for that one,” he said. “I read Tony Dungy’s book over the spring, and that’s one of the things he started building when he went to Tampa Bay.”
Unlike Dungy, who inherited a downtrodden franchise in Tampa, Gallegos is suddenly at the reins of a former state champ that he’s helped build as a player and coach over the past two decades.
He is, to use Jean-Pierre’s analogy, the man of the house now, and the family inside couldn’t be happier.
“There was a little nervousness, yeah,” he said. “I think the community was behind me, and that’s why this is so exciting. We’re expecting to do well for them, no matter who we play, and it’s just exciting to get out here on the first day and see those shiny red helmets. There’s a positive energy that you can feel in the air. That’s a great feeling.”
Comments
This site does not necessarily agree with comments posted below. Comments are the sole responsibility of the person posting them. Break our rules, and we will ban you. No exceptions, no second chances. Read our privacy policy & user agreement.
Post your comment
(Requires free registration.)