When Robert Ortiz was a student-athlete at Mingus Union High School, he knew what he wanted to do when he got older, and with the help of a bit of good timing, he has done just that.
Nearly 10 years after graduating from Mingus, Ortiz has returned to become the Marauders head football coach. He met with players and parents at an introductory meeting at the school’s cafeteria on Friday, May 11.
“I was extremely excited actually. That was something that my wife and I spoke about before, that relief of that it was finally happening,” Ortiz said. “Some of the Facebook comments of people that I went to school with were, ‘Hey I remember you talking about coaching here when you were 16,’ so it was one of those deals. It comes all the way back around.”
Ortiz takes over with experience as a junior college coach and at the NCAA Division II level as a player. He has been the wide receivers coach at Mesa Community College for the last five seasons. After graduating from Mingus in 2009, Ortiz played one season at Scottsdale Community College before accepting a full-ride scholarship to Dakota State University.
He credited the MCC coaching staff for helping him prepare in recent months for what is his first head coaching job.
An entire generation of Cottonwood residents does not know what Mingus football is without former head coach Bob Young. After 30-plus years, Young has moved on to be the defensive coordinator at Notre Dame Preparatory High School in Scottsdale.
The Marauders football program is an important one in the community, and Ortiz is tasked with following up a coach who has been regarded as a legend.
“Of course Coach Young’s shoes are going to be hard to fill. He’s been around here for a very long time, going back to the 1980s, and the impact that he’s had on a lot of kids, that’s a tough act to follow,” Mingus Athletic Director Yancey DeVore said. “But I think Robert Ortiz is willing to step up to that challenge, and I think he’s a good fit for our football program, and I like what I’ve seen so far. He’s familiar with the area, the school, the community, and he’s well-connected. I think he’s going to make a difference that’s going to be a good direction for us to go in.”
Having played for Young, Ortiz said that traditions of that era will remain, like touching the red dot and senior retreat. Nonetheless, Ortiz is already shaping the program to be his own. He said he is more of an offensive-minded coach, and is bringing in plenty of new ideas.
The team will have new uniforms. They are getting apparel through Adidas and will participate in 7-on-7 tournaments at Northern Arizona and Arizona State universities this summer.
One interesting note Ortiz brought up is the heightened use of social media. His aim is to get on the level of Phoenix Valley teams like Saguaro High School and Sunrise Mountain High School, two of Conference 4A’s top programs.
Both have a heavy social media presence to promote their players and programs. In the last two decades, the Marauders have been in and out of competition for a state title. Every change and addition is meant to bridge the gap that much closer with those schools.
“The biggest reason I feel like it’s important to establish right away, is because I feel like in the past, even as good as were through the mid-2000s, that we were always the odd man out, or we were always left out because of our location,” Ortiz said. “I believe that this school has the opportunity to compete with Valley schools on that level. Not that I’m going to do things the exact same way, but if we’re going to compete with them on the field, then we need to compete with them in every aspect of our program.”
Ortiz, who will also be a teacher, is the latest of an influx of young coaches at Mingus. That youthfulness has shone through already, and provides a level of understanding with the younger generation. Marauders defensive backs coach Jose Zabala has noticed it right away.
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Key Preseason Football Dates |
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May 29: First Summer Practice |
“Energy, he is a ball of energy,” Zabala said. “When he talks to a kid, I’ve never seen a coach relate [so] quickly. I watched him talk to three baseball players, individually, and relate to the kids in two or three minutes — I mean their eyes light up. So his ability to relate to the kids, but energy. Him being a former alumnus, he wants to fix some things here and bring back that passion that we just haven’t had the last few years.
“I’m excited. He’s modernizing us quick: Offense, defense, uniforms, the whole nine yards.”
It was about 10 years in the making, but the Robert Ortiz era at Mingus has officially begun.
