By NIIOHONTESHA WARRIOR
editor@portisabelsouthpadre.com
Edward Torres has spent the past twelve years teaching, supporting, and mentoring children in the Laguna Madre area by guiding them through sports. He provides these sports utterly free of all costs for the players and their families year-round.
During an interview with Torres, he stated he gets his help and support from his four assistant coaches, who show up with no monetary encouragement, merely with the dream they collectively share. The collective dream and goal are to be there for the children of their hometown while giving them an outlet away from drugs and crime.
Torres stated that he began coaching in 2008, teaching his niece soccer and flag football. At this point in his life, he chose the road to God and needed to make a life-path decision. He was not on a path that would make his children proud of him; as a gang member, drug dealer, and an overall “thug who was feared,” he said, “I had to change what I was doing and be someone my children could respect.”
He began teaching football full-time in 2012 and loves how his life journey has blossomed into what it is today.
At this point, Torres fully funds the team through his family-run business in Port Isabel, Don Nato Bakery, and raises money for it. He currently covers the costs of the equipment and sports fees entirely, keeping it accessible for the kids and their families. He asks nothing from the families of his team players other than to merely show up.
Torres met with the local American Legion, which plans to sponsor and support the team’s future trajectory. The organization stipulated only one requirement: the team’s name. The team is now officially named the RGV Vaqueros (Cowboys). The American Legion will fully fund the team, giving the RGV Vaqueros stable funding.
Torres’s vision is to own his stadium and a field that he can use whenever they need it without worrying about rent, paying by the hour, or any other issue that restrains them from being able to play.
He also stated that he coaches four sports throughout the year: football, soccer, baseball, and basketball. He does this to give the kids zero downtime to get in trouble, keep them busy, and focus on positive and healthy activities.
Torres also stated that for the team to function, he ideally needs twelve individuals willing to volunteer and provide water to the players, amongst other services.
Torres stated that support and the lack thereof are the hardest parts of his overall vision. Port Isabel is a small community, and this coach has feelings of defeat, but that does not stop him from showing up for the children.
He promised to continue to show up and be the lighthouse beacon for the kids who needed him and all the children who needed his support.
Torres finishes his interview with, “This team needs support from the Laguna Madre communities by parents who can be present for their children, those who feel the need to give back to the community, people seeking volunteer hours, and those who can assist with the team’s needs.”
This story is the first a new PRESS column called The Unsung Heros of the Laguna Madre. Contact the editor at editor@portisabelsouthpadre.com with nominations for local heroes that do great things.
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