The Men In The Dugout

Rattlers’ assistant coaches ready for State Final

 

 

No one ever does anything worthwhile alone. Through every step of every journey, there is usually someone, or a group of somebodies, offering directions, questioning wrong turns, or lifting you through when you think you can’t. All we do is made possible by the support of others. Nowhere is this truer than on a baseball diamond. Because one could never truly hope to succeed on a diamond, amidst red and white dust clouds, constrained by daunting eight-foot fences, all while trying to hit 90-mile projectiles. No one could succeed without help.

 

Thank the baseball gods for assistant coaches.

 

“In order to have a good program, you’ve got to have good [assistant] coaches. And Sharyland is no exception. They have excellent coaches who could probably be head coaches somewhere down the line. Sometimes assistant coaches are not given credit, but I’m sure Austin loves his assistant coaches. I’m pretty sure the kids do too,” former Sharyland Rattlers’ head coach, current McAllen High head baseball coach and RGV Hall of Famer Eliseo Pompa said when describing the roles of assistant coaches.

 

“A lot of assistant coaches make you what you are. They make you a better coach. They understand you, they know what you want,” longtime Palmview Lobos’ head baseball Coach Manuel “Ricky” Garcia said when describing the importance of assistant coaches.

 

This Friday, when the Sharyland Rattlers stand along the foul line in anticipation of the UIL 5A D2 State Championship’s opening pitch, a group of dedicated assistant coaches will flank them, ready to offer support or critique as needed. Andrew Arteaga, Enrique “Kike” Rubio, Andres “Andy” Garza, Luis Flores and Rudy Youngblood are the men behind the scenes of Sharyland Rattlers’ baseball. The ones holding everyone and everybody together, and coincidentally, they’re also the ones you know the least.

 

“People see all the talent, but they don’t see all the hard work they put in in practice and the development they’ve had the past couple of years. They see interviews with me, but I wish they would interview my assistant coaches as well, because they put in so much hard work with these kids. And they just invest and invest in these kids. I couldn’t ask for a better coaching staff,” Rattlers’ head Coach Austin Bickerton said about his coaching staff earlier this year.

 

So we took his advice and spoke to a few.

 

Andrew Arteaga has been a part of the Rattlers’ coaching staff since 2021, the first year Bickerton took over for his father Bart Bickerton. Arteaga and Austin Bickerton played on a travel baseball team together, the Top Kats, when they were younger, and remained friends throughout high school, when Arteaga starred at Edinburg High and the latter at Sharyland. They remained friends throughout college, teammates at Texas A&M International University in Laredo, Texas, before both accepted coaching jobs in the Valley after graduation. After cross-playoff matches in 2019 and a COVID-shortened season in 2020, Bickerton took over for his retiring father and asked Arteaga to join him as an assistant.

 

“I knew Bick, and I knew about his knowledge in baseball. I wanted to be part of a staff where I still trusted the coaches and knew they knew their stuff.  I was excited to be a part of that kind of program. And that’s how I ended up at Shary,” Arteaga said when describing his relationship with the program.

 

With Arteaga assisting with player development, whether physical or character, the Rattlers have become one of the best high school baseball programs in the state.

 

“We’ve always just focused on development. Developing the kids’ own identity. We focus on the development of the body. We focus on weightlifting, getting faster, stronger, and how to compete through a season of baseball,” Arteaga said.

 

Arteaga emphasizes that trust and communication are the bedrocks of coaching success and attributes the staff’s close working relationship as a contributing factor.

 

“We all trust each other. Without trust, you don’t have anything,” Arteaga said.

 

Like his colleagues and players, Arteaga is living a dream. A State Championship would make a special season extra special. As he sees it, the Rattlers aren’t just playing for Mission, or Sharyland ISD, they’re playing for the Valley.

 

“There’s great talent down here in the RGV. Our kids down here can compete with the best of them. That’s the statement we’ve been trying to make this year. Somebody’s gotta do it, so it might as well be us. Next year, I hope it’s us again, but if it’s not, I hope there’s another Valley team. I hope it just keeps growing. I hope kids in the Valley continue to work, break down doors, and bring attention to the Valley,” Arteaga said when describing the legacy of this year’s playoff run.

 

Andres “Andy” Garza began coaching softball at Sharyland, and, like his colleagues, he was called and offered a job after developing a close relationship with Austin Bickerton. Garza is admittedly the oldest staff member and one of the few not to play college baseball. What he lacks in playing experience, he makes up for in effort and dedication, acting as a trainer, confidant, disciplinarian, and sometimes spiritual advisor.

 

“I help where I can with the discipline in the program. I try to keep everyone’s morale up, all the kids, including the coaches, especially after some tough losses. They take care of the baseball side, and I work more so on the morale side and in the weight room,” Garza said when excitedly describing his role on the staff.

 

Garza’s passion and energy are a big part of the Rattlers’ family-oriented program. He’ll do anything for the team, out of genuine concern and love. The same way he and Coach Bickerton have grown to know one another.

 

“He’s always embraced me. He’s younger than me, but I still look at him as my little brother. I got his back one thousand percent, and he’s got mine. Honestly, it’s just a brotherhood. With the kids and the staff,” Garza said when describing the Rattlers’ team chemistry.

 

Garza has watched every moment of the program’s re-ascension. Sharyland baseball is the talk of the town, and he saw it all; he even coached some of it into existence. As such, he’d be the first person to tell you the Rattlers are successful by choice, not chance.

 

“Ever since last year, when we lost to Boerne-Champion, these guys made a commitment to each other that they were gonna give it their best this coming season. They put their noses to the grindstone and just worked. They deserve everything they’ve accomplished thus far. And we’re not done, man. We need one more,” Garza said

 

Luis Flores, like Coach Bickerton, is a pitcher by trade and by heart. So not only does he know everything about the game, but he also stresses just as much, if not more than, the head coach. He’s a meticulous savant, a trend among the Rattlers’ baseball staff. Flores starred for Rene Alvarez’s Zapata Hawks from 2006-09, earning a baseball scholarship and pitching for the University of Texas-Pan American Broncs baseball team (now UTRGV Vaqueros). Like his colleagues, he played travel baseball throughout the Valley and even played at Dell Diamond as a member of the RGV Longhorns.

 

After beginning his career at PSJA, Flores moved to Sharyland ISD as a P.E. paraprofessional, then as an assistant baseball coach and P.E. coach, after being offered a job by Coach Barton Bickerton. Since then, Flores has pushed Sharyland baseball players to be the best they can be every single day.

 

“You have kids who are out there trying to get extra work early in the morning. You have kids going out there asking ‘Coach, can you help me with my swing, or can I throw bull-pen?’ so you have kids that are hungry, kids that want to get better. That’s what we want in the program. We want kids who want to learn, who love the game. So we just have to push them to a level they didn’t even know they could reach,” Flores said when describing his coaching style.

 

Flores credits the coaching staff’s camaraderie and belief in each other and in the kids as an inspirational tool that guides them. They see their coaches truly believe, so they do as well. Flores feels that this year, unlike in years past, the Rattlers are putting everything together. All the ground balls, pop flies, and line drives are going their way. They just need them to keep going their way for one more game.

 

“It’s an amazing experience and accomplishment just to be a part of the coaching staff and say that you’re guiding players up to this level, because not everyone can do that. I’m very blessed to be part of this staff. It’s just awesome to be by their side [the kids] because everything is really emotional right now. When they’re succeeding, you’re succeeding, and you feel everything all together. It’s different, and it’s just a blessing to be a part of that,” Flores said when describing the significance of coaching a state finalist ball club.

 

The Rattlers’ unprecedented success this season is a direct result of the leadership, dedication and hard work of each and every member of the coaching staff. That is why we’re recognizing and saluting all of them here. Hopefully, you the readers will do the same. After all, they’ve certainly earned it.