Sometimes, things happen a lot faster than you expect. That’s the feeling shared by new Clint Horizon head football coach Paulo Melendez, who was hired as the next head coach of the Scorpions earlier this month.
“You get into this coaching profession and you always flirt with the idea of becoming a head coach. You don’t want to stay stagnant and the question for me was ‘When was it going to be a reality’”, he said. “It just happened a lot sooner than I thought. It’s a great opportunity for me, the community and the school. I want to be able to provide a breath of fresh air for them.”
Melendez walks into a place that he was walking through the halls of as a student not that long ago. The former offensive lineman played at Horizon from 2007 to 2010 and later stayed in El Paso to play collegiately at UTEP. After a season as the offensive line coach at Eastwood, taking the job at his alma mater presented a special opportunity.
“This means the world to me,” he said, “To be able to come back to a school where I bled, sweated, and shed tears on the field adds a whole new level of pride in me. I want to see this place succeed so much.”
Drawing back on his time at Eastwood, Melendez got to work with former teammates Nathan Jeffrey and Julio Lopez. Lopez is still one of the youngest head coaches in the state, but has now been surpassed by Melendez who has his first head coaching job at just 24 years old. As Melendez heads back farther in east El Paso County, he hopes to model his program similarly to what Lopez is building with the Troopers.
“I have the utmost respect for Coach Lopez,” he said, “Both of us are in the same boat in terms of young guys being head coaches and what he’s done at Eastwood in the short time there have been amazing. We want to try and mimic some of the things that they were doing over there.”
“I’ve known Paulo for a long time and I’ve been able to see his passion for the game as a player and as a coach,” Lopez said of his former teammate and assistant coach, “He’s all about the kids, he’s very organized and very football-savvy and I have no doubt that his drive and desire will get that program turned around.”
Building Horizon back up will certainly have its challenges. The Scorpions have gone just – over the last four seasons and have not made the playoffs since 2012. Melendez acknowledges the long road ahead and is focusing his attention off the field in order to start the turnaround.
“From the coaches and players, we all have to take care of business off the field,” Melendez said, “Some of the conversations I’ve had with the players revolves around being a good son, a good big or little brother, be a good community member and a good student. Pay attention to the details. I want them to be good people and if we do that, a lot of things on the field will take care of itself.”
2017 may present other challenges within a tough district and with the school year finishing up, Melendez says that there is difficulty wanting to get ramped up to work versus those winding down for the summer. That said, he’s ready to make his mark on a place where he got his start.
“These kids are tired of losing and they want to win and I want to be able to take that emotion and guide it to our blueprint to how we can win,” Melendez said, “If we can do that, I think we can change the tide.”
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