Standing on a wrestling mat in the warm confines of the South
Valley Middle School gym Wednesday, one Gilroy resident pointed out
that her community is known for three things: Garlic, Jeff Garcia
and wrestling.
Standing on a wrestling mat in the warm confines of the South Valley Middle School gym Wednesday, one Gilroy resident pointed out that her community is known for three things: Garlic, Jeff Garcia and wrestling.
The third item on that list was the focus of the day following a dual meet between the South Valley Tigers and Davis Middle School from San Jose. Tigers teachers and wrestling coaches Bert Mar and Louie Godinez, who will both be retiring at the end of the school year, were honored after the meet by former wrestlers and students as well as family and friends for their years of service. The pair gave up countless hours over more than three decades to form a powerhouse program while keeping kids off the street.
The second aspect of their work was the most important part, according to many in attendance.
“These two have impacted thousands of students, and for that they have changed the world forever,” SVMS Principal John Perales said into a microphone to those filling the stands.
Thousands might sound outlandish, but not when considering Godinez has taught math at South Valley since it opened its doors in 1978, working with roughly 175 students a day. Mar has had nearly 300 students a day in his P.E. classes. Add in the athletes they’ve coached and multiply that number by over 30 years, and the numbers become staggering.
Steven Hernandez said he has seen the impact the pair have had on his own family.
“For my daughter and also the other kids, they have taken a lot of the tough kids under their wing and built them up,” said Hernandez, whose daughter Jasmine could become the first female wrestler to make the Gilroy High School varsity wrestling team this winter. “They look for the tougher kids, the one’s not doing well with their grades. And a lot of times by the end of the season, [those kids] are doing well in class.”
Steering students down the right path has often been an overshadowed story considering how successful the South Valley program has been. Excluding a championship loss in 1997 when Mar was absent due to back surgery, the Tigers have won a wrestling championship every year since 1979.
Armando Gonzalez, a former student under Mar and now the current head coach of GHS wrestling, said the pair have been instrumental in forming an ever-growing number of All-Americans on the high school and club level.
“[They’ve] done really well getting the kids ready with fundamentals on the mat as well as the classroom,” Gonzalez said. “That’s our motto, ‘If you can’t find the time to teach a kid something good, someone will find the time to teach a kid something bad.’ ”
Godinez said that wrestling has been a way for him and Mar to show youngsters a better path.
“I think the big thing, wrestling and other sports become a vehicle to succeed in school,” Godinez said. “Very few are going to become professional wrestlers … After a while, the sport becomes secondary and academics opens up doors to other things they might be interested in.”
Mar said that in 1983 he “took over a dynasty already in place” by former Tigers coach Jim Fahey. Godinez had already been an assistant under Fahey starting in 1975, in what was then Gilroy High School. Together, the two were able to shape lives.
“I think everybody was put on this Earth for a reason, and mine was to work with kids, especially troubled kids,” Mar said. “I try to make kids believe in themselves and then we go to wrestling. Sometimes they go astray but we pull ’em back in. You can’t give up on a kid.
“I don’t think a kid is bad because he wants to be,” Mar continued. “I think it’s the circumstances.”
The easiest way to measure a program’s success is to look at its record. It appears, however, that Gilroy wrestling should also be known for results that go beyond the mat.
