Alex Leal, Athletic Director and Head Football Coach Alex Leal, Athletic Director and Head Football Coach for Raymondville Independent School District, said he is almost a hundred percent sure to be coming back next year. Leal has been coaching for a total of thirtysix years, thirty as a head honcho. His career record is 214-103, his teams have advanced into the playoffs 15 times and won ten district titles. Raymondville went 4-6 overall and 2-5 in District 32- 3A this past season.

“There are a whole lot of reasons why I am probably coming back but the main one is that we started a job here and we just have to see it through,” Leal said. “Our program is coming up and getting a whole lot better, we have over a hundred kids in our offseason workouts right now which is a far cry from what it was when we first got here. The discipline of the program is excellent, we have great administrative and parental support; so this is a good job let’s put it that way.”

Currently in the fourth year in what is his second stint at Raymondville, Leal previously coached the Bearkats from 1973-1979 (leaving during the spring of 1980), spent one year at Rio Grande City, was the skipper at Port Isabel for three years, led McAllen High School for eight years and then Harlingen South for seven.

The longevity of Leal’s coaching career has taken a natural toll on him.

“The fact that I have been around forever, that is what made me consider retiring,” Leal said. “The main factor is that a person gets tired sometimes. But once you have been out for three weeks to a month or so you recharge your batteries and are ready to go again.”

In nearly forty years, Leal has witnessed societal changes such as the decline of the typical household family.

“The biggest difference in society nowadays is that a lot of our boys here in Raymondville, I would say, a vast majority come from broken homes and things like that,” Leal said. “Because of that, we as coaches a lot of times serve more as father-figures to our boys. We have to be teachers, coaches, counselors and so forth but that to me is the biggest difference from when I was first here to this time around.”

Leal has also witnessed the transfiguration of the game of football.

“Back when I was here my first time we ran a Split-Back-Veer offense, nowadays we run the same type of offense from the shotgun,” Leal said. “Times have changed and we throw the ball about forty percent of the time and run the other sixty. We have a wide open offense and are probably on top of the game as far as that goes.”

The valley’s winningest coach, Leal has acquired his victories using what works on the field.

“A lot of people want you to run all the time but in order to score a bunch of points to stay up with your opponents you have to be able to throw,” Leal said. “I have been running this offense since 1989, my last year at McAllen we started using the shotgun and throwing the football and at Harlingen South we exclusively threw the football.”

As his career draws close to an end, Leal offered some advice to anyone considering entering the coaching profession.

“The advice I would give to any young male or female considering entering this profession is for them to only go into coaching if you cannot live without it,” Leal said. “It is a commitment that you have to make and be sure it is something you want to do.”

It helps if you have an understanding spouse to back you up, Leal added.

“If you are married, your wife or husband has to completely concur with you because in order to do the job right you have to be away from home a lot,” Leal said. “Both husband and wife have to be on the same page as far as that goes. Coaching is a great profession, I am not a wealthy person but I have a ton of friends because I have coached a lot of boys and girls throughout my lifetime.”