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David Sanchez
Winningest Hispanic Head High School Football Coach in Texas
United head coach David Sanchez doesn’t take all the credit for how his historic career has gone. He knows he has had a lot of help along the way. “I’ve been around many great coaches”, says Sanchez. Sanchez became the winningest Hispanic coach in Texas history in 2020 as he secured his 208th career victory when the Longhorns defeated United South. “It’s a great accomplishment, but it’s nothing I did by myself,” Sanchez said. “It takes a whole bunch of people to have the opportunity to accomplish that. Sanchez credits a lot of his success to his mentors, Bob Loomis and Pete Vela.
Loomis was the first head coach to hire Sanchez in 1981. Sanchez then moved to Freer again under Coach Loomis. Soon Sanchez was hired as Nixon’s head coach. He transformed the program at Nixon High School from only 10 wins in 5 years to 7-3 in his second year.
With the historic milestones come a lot of memorable moments. Sanchez likes to look back on Nixon’s celebrated 1997 season in which the Mustangs experienced an undefeated regular season and won the first Bi-District Championship in Laredo Independent School District history. That season was just a precursor to the success that was set to come throughout his two-decade-plus-long career.
On the surface, winning seems to be the most important duty for a coach. However, that’s not the main thing for Sanchez. While he has enjoyed all 208 victories, (216 as of 2021) his main priority is to make an impact on his players’ lives. He tries to mold them into men so that they are prepared for the challenges that come later in life. He finds that task more enjoyable than any of his wins.
“It’s great, but this game isn’t about me,” Sanchez said. “It’s about the kids. My goal is to impact their lives and teach them to be great young men.” Sanchez has achieved a lot in his career. However, he isn’t settled yet. He still has goals he wants to accomplish before he decides to retire. Sanchez’s ultimate goal to help United be the first Laredo team to make it to the fourth round of the playoffs. “The goal since I’ve been at United is to be that first Laredo team to advance past the third round of the playoffs — to beat those San Antonio powerhouses,” Sanchez said. “That has kept my drive going.”