Alvarado, Patrick 2000-12-12
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General Interview Information
Interviewee Name: Patrick Alvarado
Additional Parties Recorded:
Date: December 12, 2000
Location: Houston, Texas
Interviewer: Jorge Iber
Length: 00:58:25
Abstract
Background, Patrick was born in San Antonio, Texas, Father: Born in Martha, Texas, Played Football, Joined Military (two tours in WWII), Helped build big Ben national park, Southern Pacific Railroad, Family moved to Houston when Patrick was 6, Mother: From Pecos, Texas area, Housewife until the youngest child was in high school, Received GED, Worked as a bilingual aid, Siblings: 3 brothers and 2 sisters, Schooling, Graduated M.B Smiley High School in 1974, Received a full minority scholarship senior year to University of Texas, Graduated the University Of Texas in December 1978, Member of the wrestling team, Forming an interest in football, Family received a scholarship to the YMCA, Introduced to football in the 4th grade, Club Coach showed Alvarado how to play the game, By the time Alvarado reached the 7th grade, he knew he wanted to coach, Father’s influence:, Father played when there were no face masks, Father was punting on the same field as a much larger coach, Alvarado realized that it wasn’t size that was the most important, Father played at Martha, Alvarado’s Athletic Career, The first couple of years, Alvarado followed in his older brothers footsteps and became a quarterback, Did not win a game in Jr. High, Did not like being a quarterback, Switched positions to become a linebacker, Basic knowledge of the game has always been on the defensive side, Also played basketball in high school which was Alvarado’s favorite, Wasn’t allowed to play senior year because of misbehavior, High school football team, Played as a small linebacker, Only one other Hispanic player, Only about 4 Hispanic families in the region, Segregation, Football was used as a racial solidifier, Problems during high school that football remedied, Racial fights, Coach locked everyone up in the field house, 1971 the lock in solidified the team, School Rivals, Colina Park was a major rival, In 1971 were predominantly Anglo/Currently 95% Hispanic, While playing color didn’t matter, they were all football players, Parents of opposing team made racial remarks towards Alvarado and his team, University Of Texas, Joined the college of education, Took courses for teachers education, Member of the wrestling team, Coached little league team, Student teaching, Went to Mexican American socials, Fraternity price was out of Alvarado’s price range, Intramural games lead to altercations with Alvarado because of his athleticism, Coaching, Smiley High School: Coached 2 years, Majority black population when he returned, Two worst years, Wasn’t a positive environment, Spring High School: Coached 7 years, Houston area, Coceba from Florida took Alvarado under his wing and taught him deeper concepts of football, Assistant coaching on Varsity, Alding School District: Coached 7 years, Defensive Coordinator, Coach Neil Quillen was his biggest Mentor, Quillen won a State championship at Willow Ridge, North Shore High School: Coached 1 year, North Brooke High School: Coached 6 years, Coached 3 years as the head coach, 17th year finally became a head coach, Average time of wait to become a head coach, Schools are centered on football, Very little first generation, Large Salvadorian population, 5A School with a 3A participation level, Team had troubles competing in the Alding School District, Alvarado feels Hispanic coaches have the same opportunities of advancing in coaching, Mass size and speed have a lot to do with the game, South Americans were generally smaller in size, Impact on player, Keeps students in school, Students come from broken families, Gives students a male role model to look up to, Provides structure, Community Service, Heads the food drive for the Shriner Hospital for crippled children, Football team is helping a mom with cancer move apartments, Northwest assistant ministries food pantry in North West Houston, Past players going onto collegiate football, Hasn’t been an Hispanic, Has sent only one from Spring High School, Parent relationship to the coaches, Parents don’t attend many of the games, Most of the parents have to work two or more jobs, Moms night out: teaching the moms about football, 1/3 Central American mothers, Hispanic surname coaches for interview, Houston Chavez: 95% Mexican American community, Alvarado’s additional information, Alvarado had to do the “dirty work” while climbing the coaching ladder, Doing the laundry, Doing manual labor, Head coach position is also tied into athletic director, Advantages, As a Mexican American coach he doesn’t have “black problems” because he is a minority as well, African-Americans relate to them because they don’t have to talk “up” to him or “down” to him
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