Rockdale High School soccer coach Gilberto Rodriguez is excited but slightly anxious as his team starts their third ever season in school history this Friday at Tiger Stadium.
“I’m a little nervous,” Rodriguez told the Report er. “Last year, we didn’t play our first game until after Christmas, so everything is happening way ahead of schedule.
“There will be a lot to learn after this Friday, but I think we’re looking good.”
RHS lost five players to graduation, but due to four of those players being injured late last season, Rodriguez has a team that is nearly identical to the group that lost a 1-0 heart-breaker to District 25-4A champion Bellville in the opening round last spring.
They have first team all-district pick Chris Olvera and Co-District Goalkeeper of the Year Brandon Hernandez back on the pitch this season.
Second team pick German Mata and honorable mention Fernando Gonzales are also returning.
They lost honorable mention Ryan Nguyen, who moved back to Houston over the summer.
Rodriguez also talked about the increased turnout for soccer this year and how having an off-season program has made things easier.
“We had 29 boys in practice,” he said. “I’m almost on the verge of needing to have a junior varsity.
“Also, this is the first year where we got to work on basics during the class period. It’s been great because kids already know what I expect way before the season starts and kids are a lot more ready for when it’s time to play games.”
With soccer not as common in smaller school districts, the UIL combines Classes 1A-4A for the sport.
Rockdale plays in District 26-4A with Austin’s East-side Memorial, Manor New Tech, Taylor, Cameron and Hearne.
They kick-off at 7:30 p.m. following the conclusion of the Lady Tigers’ match.
GIRLS– After Rodriguez pulled double-duty as head coach for both RHS soccer teams last season, the Lady Tigers are now under the direction of coach Kaitlyn Brinkley.
Former RHS football assistant Mitch Flores was slated to coach the girls’ this season but after he resigned in early November, Brinkley went from coaching RJH girls’ basketball to taking over as head girls’ soccer coach.
“For our girls’ team this year, we have a lot of new faces,” Rodriguez said. “That happened last year as well since we didn’t have a lot of girls back from the first |ear1
“But we have a lot of freshmen playing this year and they’re already thriving. They look like they’re all in.”
The Lady Tigers went 1-9 in District 26-4A play last year with their lone victory coming in a shootout over Georgetown Gateway at Tiger Stadium.
Rodriguez also commented on how helpful having an off-season for the girls has been.
“In the past, we would have just after school practice and we could never have a full team,” he said. “I think we struggled because you expect big things when you’re always missing a couple of players.”
The match begins Friday at 5:30 p.m., before the boys’ game.
PROGRAM H ISTORY – The Rockdale High School soccer program got it’s start after Rodriguez, a 2010 RHS graduate, grew up as a fan and went to RHS when Cameron started their program.
Dfter his first |ear as a teacher at RHS in 2017, he got together with Lin Perry to draft a proposal that would help start a soccer program at RHS.
After the administration and board accepted the proposal, Rodriguez was asked to coach the team by athletic director Jeff Miller.
In 2018, RHS played as a club, which meant they were not attached to any district, before joining the ranks of 26-4A last year.
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