In order to create a legacy, the process can last years and sometimes even decades.
Even with the right amount of talent, a stone can go unturned. There are limits without organization and in the end no matter how good a coach is, a program may never live to its true potential.
Fortunately for Pierce, they had for defensive coordinator Juan Navarro. He was and is a role model for how a coach should be. Someone who is brass, tough, tenacious, but at same time listens, is observant and not afraid of change.
These qualities are what made him one of the most respected and recognized coaches in the state and a key reason why the Brahmas football team is one of the best at recruiting tremendous talent. In his absence it will be these qualities that will allow Pierce to have continued success for years to come.
Now he goes to Valley College, the crosstown rival of Pierce. A team that is literally struggling to hold its own, not just as a football team but as a school that produces competitive athletics. Seeing the program that Navarro has helped create, he will be the perfect addition for the Monarchs, who as a team went 4-6 and had an embarrassing 1-6 conference record including getting smashed by the Brahmas last year 42-9.
With Navarro as head coach he will bring in toughness, diligence and respect for a team that hasn’t been getting any. He will bring back and help build a legacy that really hasn’t had a solidifier in its organization for seemingly decades. Most of all, he will bring a modern spin and a positive attitude for a team in dire need of a reboot.
Students, staff and players might be thinking: a Brahma leaving to become a Monarch? Sounds like a traitor. Well that would be anyone’s first impression but the truth of the matter is Valley needs to become competitive. The monarchs need someone to help clean the mess, start over and give a new outlook on the east side of the Valley.
More importantly, this is coach Navarro’s chance to prove that he can not only be just a man who can work as a second general, but be the heart and the pulse of an organization. Who knows what this job will do for the Florida native. If in a few years, he turns this program into a competitive team and a recruiting competitor that rivals Pierce, the job could be used as a platform for something bigger.
So with coach Navarro leaving, he turned Pierce into a team that literally breeds defensive linemen and linebackers and turns them into competitive Division I prospects. With his legacy, players will continue to come to Pierce because of the Brahmas’ reputation for success. Now he gets to do it for a lackluster Valley program, desperately needing life like a flower that hasn’t seen the sun or a drop of rain in years.
A new era is dawning at Valley with Navarro in the lead. It’ll be hard for the former Brahma who will literally be building a foundation with his bare hands. But knowing his track record, things are about to get better at Valley, the way they did when Navarro first set foot at Pierce.
