Before his professional career started, Dean Garza’s plan was to get a college degree and get rich.
He had no idea that coaching and teaching was the calling that would lead him to make a positive mark on the lives of athletes at multiple stops.
After 33 years of coaching football at the junior high and high school levels, Garza decided to retire from that side of the game at the end of the 2021-22 school year.
“It still hasn’t sunk in because it’s summer time,” Garza said. “I don’t have to go to school and do the workouts, but it’ll sink in August, September when they’re out there practicing.”
The decision to step away doesn’t mean Garza is ready to hang up the headset, as he’s still staying busy in his role as assistant head coach and offensive coordinator for the West Texas Warbirds.
Garza, an Odessa native, started his coaching career in his hometown at Hood Junior High in 1989.
His stint at Hood was beneficial because it provided the opportunity to scout opponents for the high school, giving him a deeper understanding of the intricacies of football.
After seven years in his first coaching job, Garza made the jump to high school when Randy Mayes hired him to coach tight ends, wingbacks and members of the secondary at Permian.
Garza credited his scouting experience as a junior high coach for the success he achieved later on in his career.
“Most people don’t even send scouts out anymore, you watch video,” Garza said. “Hudl and things are great, it’s still not like being there live but times have changed.
“Do you have to scout? No, but there’s certain things you can see when you scout.”
During his time on the Panthers’ coaching staff, Garza wondered what his next move would be because he was already at one of the premier spots in the state for high school football.
His tenure at Permian ultimately ended in 2000, giving him a chance to work with one of his mentors, John Wilkins, at Midland Trinity for a season.
The next stop was the one that led Garza away from the Midland-Odessa area, seeing him land in the Metroplex to coach wide receivers and tight ends for a budding program at Allen High School.
Being at Allen was a different experience for Garza because the city only had one high school to support, so the community rallied behind the program.
When Garza was in high school, Odessa had three high schools (Odessa High, Permian and Ector) until his senior year.
Along with winning state championships at Allen, Garza made connections that have stuck to today.
Those connections include Warbirds president Leif Kertis, who played a role in Garza landing a spot on the indoor football team’s coaching staff.
His stint at Allen lasted 15 years before he came back home to join the Odessa High coaching staff under Danny Servance, spending five seasons as the Bronchos’ assistant head coach and offensive coordinator.
“It was an opportunity to come back to family and work for one of my good friends,” Garza said. “I had never worked on the west side of town, I grew up over there but started at Hood, which is a Permian feeder and went to Permian so I was excited to get to go back home.
“Spent five years there and no regrets, it didn’t work out, we gave it all we had but Coach Servance is a great man and I’ll work for him any time.”
Garza’s last role at the high school level was back at Permian, coaching the slots for the 2021 campaign.
When Tate Smith was putting together his coaching staff to lead the Warbirds before the team’s inaugural season in 2021, he knew he needed to reach out to Garza because of the wealth of experience the veteran coach has.
“He was my first hire to come in this thing,” Smith said. “I can’t speak highly enough about the guy, from the character off the field to on the field, what he does is amazing.”
Smith added that he spoke with Garza over the spring when he was considering retiring and made sure he was still up to maintain his duties for the Warbirds.
The head coach will always look to sign Garza first every season.
Garza doesn’t know what lies ahead in retirement, but he’s excited to help the Warbirds in their quest to keep their unbeaten mark as a franchise over the summer.
“I’m sure I’ll have withdrawals after July, especially August once two-a-days come around and I see them out there,” Garza said. “I’ll see what I feel and if I really miss it, I’ll sit out a year and come back.
“If I don’t, I’m going to sit in the stands and watch and be one of those fans that knows it all.”
>> Follow Chris Amaya on Twitter at @OA_CAmaya
