Legendary Rio Grande Valley high school boys basketball coach Rosendo “Roy” Garcia died Monday, his family announced. He was 80 years old.
Garcia, a Los Fresnos graduate, began his coaching career as an assistant at Los Fresnos High School before becoming the boys basketball head coach and athletic director at Mission High during the 1970s. Garcia spent 28 years leading Mission High’s boys basketball program. He then took over head coaching duties at San Benito and finally PSJA Southwest in 2010.
He finished his coaching career with more than 660 wins and a dozen district titles. His role as a basketball head coach and athletic director at Mission High paved the way for head coaches of sports outside of football to become athletic directors.
Current Mission CISD athletic director Lety Ibarra credited Garcia for creating opportunities and impacting student-athletes during his time at Mission High.
“He was the first as far as being an athletic director and head basketball coach. He opened up doors being a basketball coach being the athletic director here at Mission High,” Ibarra said. “He was very impactful through and through, not only with sports, but with all the kids he was in charge of. He played such a big father, role model role in so many people’s lives. He impacted so many kids and was very influential and very supportive. He will be dearly missed.”
Garcia was inducted into the Rio Grande Valley Sports Hall of Fame in 1993 and the Texas High School Coaches Association Hall of Honor in 2015.
Garcia was a multi-sport athlete as a quarterback for the Los Fresnos football team and star basketball player for the Falcons, earning All-American honors in 1961.
Editor’s note: This story has been updated to include remarks from Mission CISD Athletic Director Lety Ibarra.
