L.A. high school coach runs extra mile, awarded Most Inspiring Coach of the Year

NBCLatinoBy Maria Camila Bernal, NBCLatino

In the East Los Angeles community where Coach Justin Torres trains his cross country and track high school students, the dropout rate is 70 percent, families live on very low incomes and many of the runners can’t even afford a pair of running shoes.

But none of that has ever been an obstacle.

Since he began coaching at Bishop Mora Salesian High School almost five years ago, Coach Torres has quadrupled the number of students in his teams, taken them to their first section championship in 32 years and has helped get 98 percent of his runners accepted into four-year colleges.

For his effort, passion and love towards his runners, Torres was awarded as the Most Inspiring Coach of the Year by Brooks.

“Every kid regardless of their background or their abilities deserves a professional sports program,” said Torres. “There are tons of great coaches at great schools, but I’d rather be a great coach that comes here and makes a difference.”

The Mexican-American coach said his students, who are primarily Mexican and Central American, are not inclined to pursue track and field or cross country.

“My students already come in with two strikes: first their socio-economic status, living in the poverty line, and two, their skin color,” Torres said. “But they all have the ability to work hard and I am going to teach them that.”

“I saw it as an opportunity to give the guys something they can be good at,” Torres added.

His cross country and track teams accept anyone who wants to join and is willing to train. Torres’ only condition is that his students take responsibility, attend all practices and work hard.

“This gives structure to their lives– I guarantee it will help them get their lives in order,” Torres said. “I would much rather have a runner work his butt off and become a better person than just having a bunch of fast guys.”

The school doesn’t have a place where the students can run, but Torres makes them run around the neighborhood at least twice a day. And to save their shoes, he asks the students to run barefoot in the school soccer field.

“He definitely makes us go beyond the point where we are hurting, but he knows we can do it,” said his student Santiago Banuelos, 16. “He is like an older brother, more than a friend because he is always there for us.”

Torres has made the cross country and track teams part of his family. To do so, he has received the help of his wife and kids, who regularly accompany the teams to practices and meets.

“My wife, who is also a runner, is my support. And the guys are always around my kids, they are like big brothers to them,” Torres said. “That’s what makes the sacrifice worth it.”

By winning the Inspiring Coach of the Year award, Torres received  $10,000 in Brooks performance running gear and $2,500 in cash to help fund team expenses.

With that, the team was able to get much-needed running shoes and matching sweats to wear to their competitions.

“When we go to meets we usually look mix-and-match, we don’t look the part,” Torres said. “But this year we are going to look really cool and that gives them a good feeling. We look like a team and they are going to feel like a team.”

But despite being able to afford new gear, Torres said it’s the success stories of his students that keep him going. His former runner, Jonathan Estrada, is a freshman at Providence College. Thanks to his involvements in the high school cross country and track teams, he was able to get a partial scholarship to run for his college team.

“I’m mostly grateful,” said Estrada. “I didn’t expect to get that in high school, but to see how far he has gotten me just makes me grateful.”

And the students are Torres’ pride. By pushing them to run the extra mile, he knows he has the best team he could ever ask for, he said.

“If they work their hardest, they are winners, they achieve their goals,” Torres said. “Those are the things that make me happy.”

This article was first published in NBCLatino.

[Photo courtesy NBCLatino]

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