It's a band-aid for a broken varsity system, but every little bit helps.
The El Paso Patriots made a solid hire recently -- Miguel Murillo, a former Mexican professional player who has built a well-regarded El Paso youth soccer academy, takes the same job with the team he coached in 2002, but with added responsibilities that could help high school soccer players in the Borderland.
Murillo, who played in Mexico with Cruz Azul's and Club Americas' organizations, among others, has his FIFA International "A" coaching license (here's a link to US Soccer's requirements for a national "A" license) -- one of the first Patriot mentors to actually possess one of soccer's highest bona fides.
As such, Murillo will be the Patriots' Director of Soccer, heading up not only the Premier Development League team but also the Patriots Youth Academy. Bringing in Murillo instantly makes the academy an even bigger force in club soccer. Both Murillo and the Patriots have a solid history of giving area youngsters opportunities with their clubs that they frankly don't get enough of in high school.
It seems like, now more than ever, the Patriots want "opportunities" to be "college scholarships" for Borderland teenagers. Murillo mentioned as much at his introductory press conference.
This is not to say high school coaching and competition won't provide what players need and the Patriots are riding in to save the day -- no, there are many competent coaches all around the Borderland. There will be no slamming anyone outside of the University Interscholastic League.
The problem isn't how, it's when.
The UIL needs to move the whole season from winter to fall. Even an October start instead of January would help. If you ask soccer acolytes around Texas, they'd tell you the season should never have been placed where it was to begin with.
Just looking at the usual weather forecasts for late winter should have been a huge tip-off when the UIL was considering when to play. Playing an outdoor sport with a ball that spends most of its time in the air -- in March?!
The old adage about spitting into the wind comes to mind.
Varsity soccer has long been the red-headed stepchild of high school sports in the Lone Star state, with the start of the season coming just a few weeks before National Letter of Intent Signing Day for NCAA schools. That's because most other state's high schools and all colleges play soccer in the fall. Fall sports sign their players in January.
From this space, it is certainly easy to suggest what would be a large logistical undertaking, but if the benefit is more Texas high school soccer players receiving college scholarships it should be considered.
It isn't that fall soccer is any more right or wrong than winter -- hey, Major League Soccer plays through the dead of summer -- but it is what most everyone does; so wedging winter soccer between football ("Gotta keep ar'selves some kickers fer football, dadgummit!") and the spring sports puts Texas soccer players on the outside looking in should they wish to impress college coaches in their senior seasons.
By the time they're just beginning to strut their stuff, the colleges have already signed most of their recruits. This is sad, since many high school athletes make the biggest leaps in physical maturity between their junior and senior years.
It's even worse for El Paso, an area known for good soccer talent, but an easy place to skip on the recruiting trail. The Sun City's last two state champions for team sports? Both in soccer -- Coronado in 1996 and Del Valle in 2005.
Bel Air's Omar Tena and Mario Alvarez have benefited from the solid leadership of head coach Sergio Delgado in regard to coaching and getting attention for his players -- one example of a coach who cares out of many. But there are a lot more high school coaches than college coaches and it's sometimes hard to get noticed when everyone else is touting their players, too. Or when you're playing in winter.
Tena and Alvarez made it -- both signed Division 1-A scholarships with Cal State-Fullerton and are playing their senior seasons with a future to the west.
They're certainly not the only varsity soccer players from the area to sign college scholarship offers, but I wonder how many more could get into college programs if Texas played the sport when everybody else does?
In the past, the Patriots have had a nice link, but not necessarily to college soccer programs.
Going into its 18th season, the franchise has actually sent a few players to the professional ranks in Mexico and in the U.S. Patriots forward and ex-Del Valle standout Omar Mora is most notable for turning his El Paso successes into a stint in the pros south of the border.
Patriots forward Omar Mora scores the tying goal in El Paso's win over Miami FC in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup. Mora's Patriots experience led him to stints with Mexico's CD Zacatepec and Tabasco.
A state champ with that '96 Coronado team and a Patriots stalwart as a playmaking midfielder, Kirk Wilson played awhile with the former Dallas Burn (now FC Dallas) in MLS.
Former Patriots player and coach Salvador "Chava" Mercado credits his time with the Pats in the mid-1990's with making him a more physical player, ready for the rigors of Mexican soccer at its highest level. After leading the Patriots to the 1995 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup finals, Mercado led Atletico Celaya to the championship series of the FMF's First Division soon after, then won one with the Yankees of Mexican soccer, Chivas de Guadalajara.
But despite his ties to the game in Mexico, Murillo has already vowed that his focus will be on giving players an opportunity in American -- specifically college -- soccer first, then the pros.
Like MLS, the PDL wages a summer campaign, allowing college coaches and scouts ample time before the start of the NCAA season to see young players and their development.
The Patriots have used talented high schoolers in their lineup routinely since dropping down to the PDL four years ago and can continue to play them after they graduate without it counting against college eligibility -- perfect for late bloomers.
Or high school seniors squeezed out by a late start.
(Duke Keith is the public address and play-by-play voice of the El Paso Patriots and calls high school soccer games for MetroSports Southwest, Cable Channel 24.)