Honoring Coach Jose’s Legacy
BHYS Coach Jose Martinez left this world November 6tth 2022 after succumbing to a brief bout with cancer. He was a distinguished coach and board member with Beacon Hill Youth Soccer where he managed his Latino community youth soccer program called Tecos.
Hi wife Evonne tells us “Jose was an athlete most of his life and a dedicated coach throughout his life. As his children grew old enough to play sports, he coached each one of them in a variety of sports depending on the season; baseball, softball, basketball, wrestling. In later years, he dedicated his life to coaching youth soccer. He coached at the premiere, middle school, and high school levels and was a Nationally licensed soccer coach with additional advanced training. Although he could have continued to coach for premiere teams or charged significantly for his training services, his focus was in providing high level training opportunities to youth and families that would not have been able to afford it otherwise especially within the Latino and immigrant community. He also loved to work with young people who were not given the same opportunities by other coaches because of their lack of skill or because of limited abilities that made it challenging for them to make progress in a linear fashion. His patience and great respect for each player and his focus on skill development and not on his teams’ winning was what eventually led to his players becoming very skilled and he often had championship level teams as a result. In addition to teaching his players soccer skills, he also stressed to players the importance of always doing their best in whatever they attempted, including academics and maintaining their familial relationships. He was not just a coach- he was a mentor, a confidant, an advocate, and his teams became more like extensions of families that he led as their respected elder.”
Jose and his Tecos club enhanced SYSA diversity while providing an invaluable service to the families of Seattle’s southend community. It was not easy for Tecos to play in our Seattle community soccer league. Jose’s soccer families were challenged with multiple barriers including language, poverty, access to technology, complicated registration systems, transportation to games and practices, and sadly, racial conflict encountered on the pitch. Yet, everyone benefited from the opportunities for different cultures to mingle at games and community meetings. Jose will forever be remembered for giving his Latino community opportunities for youth development and for expanding the reach of BHYS and SYSA into our wonderfully diverse community.
Jose’s son Quauhtli intends to continue managing the BHYS Tecos teams. Jose’s wife Evonne will continue on the BHYS Board to foster diversity in our organization. BHYS is extremely grateful for this ongoing gift presented by Jose and his family.
Larry McCann
BHYS Registrar
““In the end, lo and behold, it’s not really about sports at all. What matters most for youngsters is learning about themselves, and learning how to get along. For the vast majority of kids, the games themselves will fade over the years. What will remain are the friendships and life lessons from the 21st-century village that sports can provide and that kids so desperately need outside of the structure of the classroom.””