Garcia ready for pressure situation as kicker in All-Star game

Luis Garcia won't mind at all if the 2010 Texas High School Coaches Association All-Star Football Game comes down to making a game-winning field goal or extra point.

The former Brownsville Hanna standout kicker-punter will be playing for the South squad in Tuesday's 7:30 p.m. game at the Alamodome in San Antonio.

If his kick is what it takes for the South to win, he'll welcome the opportunity.

"Yeah, I'd like to kick one," said Garcia, who received All-Valley, All-Metro and All-District 32-5A honors as a senior in 2009 by helping the Golden Eagles go 9-2 and capture their first outright conference championship since 1969 with a 7-0 mark in 32-5A. "I may be a little nervous, but I wouldn't mind doing it. I hope I get a chance to kick one, for sure.

"It's great to be chosen to represent Texas (as an all-star)," he added. "It means a lot to me. There aren't really any words to describe just how it feels."

The South squad will be coached by Andy Evans and his Tatum High School coaching staff. Practices began on Friday in San Antonio.

The 5-foot-11, 187-pound Garcia did not miss an extra point for Hanna in 2009 and converted six of nine field-goal attempts. Two of the misses were attempts from beyond 50 yards with just a few seconds left in the half, said current Hanna head coach Tom Campos, who was the offensive coordinator for the Golden Eagles last season.

"This is a tremendous opportunity for Luis, and it's great exposure for the Rio Grande Valley," Campos said. "Luis is already planning to go to UTSA (UT-San Antonio) as a student, and maybe he'll get a chance to kick there (as the Roadrunners are adding football). There may be other colleges out there that are looking for a kicker, too, and playing in this all-star game gives them a chance to see him."

Garcia said as of now he is enrolled to attend UTSA and pursue a degree in nursing.

"If I did get an offer (athletic scholarship) somewhere, I think I would check out my options," said Garcia, whose longest field goal for Hanna was 49 yards when he was a freshman in 2006.

Tom Chavez, Hanna's head coach last season who is now the Brownsville ISD athletic director, said Garcia is blessed with a strong leg.

"He was always putting the ball in the end zone (on kickoffs)," Chavez said. "He did a great job for us. He's the best I've ever had (as a kicker-punter)."

While Garcia participated four years in football, he also played soccer for the same amount of time at Hanna. He said he was influenced by Hugo Garcia, an older brother and also a Hanna graduate, who played soccer for the Golden Eagles.

Campos said Garcia showed his skills in both sports.

"Luis is a tremendous athlete," said Campos, who is entering his fourth year coaching at Hanna. "He demonstrated that you can be a two-sport athlete and excel in both of them."

When asked if there is anyone he would like to thank for his success as a high school athlete, Garcia mentioned his coaches at Hanna, particularly Chavez and Juan de Dios Garcia, the boys head soccer coach.

"My coaches were always there for me," he said.