Photo courtesy of Lawrence Garcia
Gallup, New Mexico- New Mexico is a big state, and there are a ton of coaches doing phenomenal things. At CPS, we want to highlight a coach each week to showcase some of the great things happening, spotlighting people who might go under the radar.
Second, we have Gallup high school’s Lawrence Garcia who is the head football coach for the Bengals. Here are the questions we asked him.
This post is graciously sponsored Velocity Sports Performance who encourage all athletes to trust the process. Velocity Sports Performance is a sports performance and fitness center that has helped numerous athletes throughout New Mexico. For more information, you can reach out to them on Instagram: @velocity_sports__performance25
Q: Could I get your first and last name, your role, and the team that you coach for?
A: Lawrence Garcia, Head Football Coach at Gallup High School.
Q: Did you play football in high school? If so, what was your experience? If not, what is the background in football?
A: I played all four years at Miyamura High School. I really had a great experience and found a home with my coaches and teammates. We had a great group of guys and really made a mark going from back-to-back 2-8 seasons to a great 10-2 run as a senior.
Q: Can you walk us through your coaching career? Any favorite memories during your coaching career?
A: I started coaching in 2016 at Miyamura for head coach Wes Shank. I was lucky enough to get to run the offense for the C-Team while being an assistant for the varsity and really learning for the first few years. After that I coached under John Roanhaus for two years as an offensive line coach. I took a short break from coaching for a year during COVID and right after coached at Thoreau under David Foley as an offensive line coach. I came back to Miyamura with Foley as the offensive coordinator and offensive line coach for the next three years until I took the position, I’m currently at now in 2025.
Q: What is your philosophy or just some coaching tenets that you live by?
A: Coaching is teaching and connecting. You must be a great teacher and really understand what you’re doing. What goes with that is being able to connect and not just be another person telling kids what to do. They have to know you care and want to meet them where they’re at.
Q: What is one of your favorite things about coaching?
A: I really enjoy teaching the game and seeing kids’ progress. The person they walk in as in 9th grade and the person they leave as in 12th is such a transformation and getting to be a small part of that is great.
Q: Build me your Mountain Rushmore of your favorite football figures (players, coaches, owners, etc.
A: This is such a tough question. Keeping it down to four I’ll try to go with Nick Saban, Tom Brady, Al Davis and Bill Walsh.
Q: Any team traditions or any pre-game rituals you have?
A: One that I’ve kept since I’ve started coaching comes from that first year with Wes Shank. Right after school we would load up his truck with footballs, cameras, and other equipment for every home game. After he’d take us to Blake’s Lotaburger for green chile cheese burgers and talk about the day. I still do it to this day for all home games.
Q: Besides football, what are some things you enjoy?
A: Music and lifting are still a big part of my life after football. I have a solid vinyl collection that I’ve built up. Everything from 70’s rock like the Eagles to the latest J. Cole album. I still try to be active in the gym and set some new PR goals as much as I can as well. I still try to get into video games with my friends when we have the chance too.
Q: Was there a coach that was influential in your life?
A: I think I’ve learned a lot from everyone that I’ve gotten a chance to work with. I think the way I look at football as a game comes a lot from Wes Shank but I really learned a lot from John Roanhaus too despite the circumstances around his tenure.
Q: What can people expect from your team this season?
A: I think we’ll be competitive. We graduate a lot from last year, but those seniors did a great job getting the young guys motivated and seeing what could be. We’ll be Junior led but I’m excited to see our seniors play with more expectations coming from them.
Q: Finally, what has football meant in your life, and what are you hoping to pass down to the players?
A: It means a lot to me. I think football is all about community and the best part is finding it. I lost my mom at an early age and the people I leaned on were the coaches, parents and players that really helped me through a tough time in my life.
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