The Voks of Lanier High School Are Continually Refining the Legacy of Don Gatian Through Alumni.

Lanier High School Head Football Coach and Athletic Coordinator Don Gatian is finishing his 23rd season. The legacy he will leave behind at the conclusion of his career is an excellence in sustainability through the deliberate recruitment of home-grown alums from his trail-blazing days at the start of his tenure. The commitment of securing alumni to be much of his coaching roster is a plan Gatian didn’t envision initially but came to fruition as he starting seeing many of his ex-players move into teaching.

A Vok Composition:

The Voks are from the inner-city of San Antonio and known as the Pride of the Westside; they have enjoyed a successful year from an athletic standpoint. The school has earned an outright district championship in football (second title in five years), a district title in soccer (first since 1986), and three bi-district appearances after winning their round one matchup in football, soccer, and basketball. There are also individual post-season appearances through cross-country and track. Finally, for the first time ever in the program’s history, the school has had seven student-athletes signed to compete at the collegiate level this coming fall. These are all remarkable feats considering the state of the program when Gatian first took over as the Athletic Coordinator of the campus. The Voks were considered a door-matt for years against their opponents and in the 23 years since Gatian took the helm, the door-matt distinction has been erased from the minds of opponents.

A common denominator for the Voks is the composition of the coaching staff. In football, the Offensive and Defensive Coordinators Sal Tellez and Steve Garcia are alumni and Class of 2001. The Head Coaches of the other sports have either graduated from Lanier or have had twenty plus years of experience in the community. Tellez leads the Track program, Art Campos (Class of 2006) is the Head Cross Country Coach, Joseph Martinez (Class of 2002) is the Head Basketball Coach. In Soccer, Frank Akers is not a graduate but has been serving the Lanier community for 27 years (4 years at Rhodes Middle School), serving in several capacities including coaching several of the current coaches. Sprinkle Johnny Cervantes (class of 2000), Anthony Reyes (Class of 2008), Randy Berlanga (Class of 2007), and Bobby Luce, Head Athletic Trainer since 1992, and this is a staff that has a competitive edge through cohesiveness and continuity.

Photo By Yvan Salazar

Excellent Culture Agents:

According to an article on HigherEdJobs.com, there are five reasons as to why alumni should pursue an opportunity to work at their Alma Mater:

1. Working hard contributes to passion at your alma mater. Passion is important to provide you a self of fulfillment.

2. You are the product and not the consumer, thus the level of pride is reciprocal between employer and employee.

3. You are a more desirable candidate since you were taught by the institution.

4. You know the history, tradition, and/or customs.

5. You will be more productive because it appeals to your whole self; thus, you see the value you provide to the whole spectrum of the educational process.

Like with every scenario, there are pros and cons to every choice. In this instance, the accelerated learning curve for an alumnus is too great of a benefit for an employer to not consider alumni for roles. In the case of Lanier High School, this can explain the athletic success despite the challenges of COVID-19 and a school undergoing major construction. With the documented issues of inner-city schools throughout the nation, Lanier High School has defied the odds and managed to put together it’s most successful year athletically since the 2000-2001 school year.

The Secret Sauce:

There is a strong correlation with stellar relationship building and student achievement/progress in inner-city school settings. According to Edutopia’s video on the Power of Relationships in Schools, “children who feel safe and supported by adults are able to learn better in school.” With the Voks, the coaching staff has an accelerated learning curve with understanding their students and their stakeholders. When Martinez and Tellez were asked individually, both echoed the sentiments of knowing their student-athletes on a personal level helps to communicate their messages and most importantly, interpret the messages conveyed to them. In fact, a unique situation like Tellez’s speaks volumes as the Offensive Coordinator of the football team; currently Tellez’s starting quarterback is Junior, Xavier Tellez, nephew to the older Tellez. Tellez also lives in the neighborhood which has elevated his experience to come full circle.

Each of the coaches in this program have a cheat-code to building relationships because of their credibility within their community; they were once known as stellar athletes and are now considered as father-figures or role-models to many in the community because of their successes.

“I am Blessed and take a lot of pride to be a coach in this community,” professes Tellez. “There’s nowhere else I’d rather be.”

In consideration of the track-record, Lanier High School and its community echoes those sentiments.

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