Heart condition forces Hidalgo's Post to resign
Jim Post took a couple of minutes to sit and catch his breath. His Hidalgo Lady Pirates had just pulled out a dramatic come-from-behind overtime victory over Victoria West in the Class 4A regional quarterfinals in February, and Post needed some time to collect himself before giving a post-game interview.
It became a familiar scene last season, and it signaled to Post that he probably needed to consider stepping down from coaching. Post, 63, told RGVSports.com this week that he has retired from coaching because of a heart condition that can be exasperated under stressful conditions.
“Four decades of coaching,” said Post, who began his coaching career in the 1970s in Missouri. “It’s worn me out. …. As the season went along, my health got a little bit worse. I knew that I needed to make a change.”
Nelly Flores, a two-time All-Valley first team selection who will be a senior next season, said her teammates were well aware of Post’s health problems.
“We tried to help him out and not give him too much worry (about), knowing his health condition,” Flores said. “We tried not to give him a hard time in practice.”
Post said he decided to step down during the season. He told school officials two weeks after the Lady Pirates’ season ended in February to eventual state runner-up Austin LBJ at the Region IV-4A tournament in San Antonio of his intentions to step down because of his health. They told him to take a couple of weeks to make a final decision. When that time arrived, Post said he knew he couldn’t continue.
“I knew that if I couldn’t do the job that I was supposed to, then I needed to step down,” Post said. “I just knew I had to do it after the year.”
Post had just completed his first season as the Lady Pirates head coach. He served as an assistant to Monica Rodriguez for one season after coming out of a six-month retirement following a three-year head coaching stint with the PSJA North girls. Post was no stranger to Hidalgo. He served as the Pirates boys head coach for three seasons beginning in 1998.
Post helped usher the Lady Pirates into a new era. Not only did they have a new head coach, but they were competing in their first season in Class 4A. They also had to move on without point guard Nashae Owens, the 2009-10 Valley Freedom Newspapers Player of the Year, who opted to move to the Houston area rather than attend school in Hidalgo her senior season.
Despite that, the Lady Pirates advanced to the Sweet 16 in 4A with an eight-player team that had just one senior. Hidalgo was also the smallest Class 4A school by enrollment in the state, according to UIL figures used to determine classification.
“Along the way, he did a good job of coaching us and giving us whatever we needed to succeed,” Flores said. “He says that it was us that went that far, but without him, we couldn’t have gone that far.”
Post not only took an eight-player team to the Sweet 16, but he did it with a freshman point guard, Lexi Williams, who he chose to succeed Owens. VFN selected Williams as the All-Valley Newcomer of the Year. His Lady Pirates finished the season 30-6 and earned the District 32-4A championship with a 17-1 mark.
But, Post’s influence stretched beyond the numbers, according to Jessica Castillo, the lone senior for the Lady Pirates.
“He was always there for us,” Castillo said. “He treated us like one of his daughters. He was like a father figure to most of the girls on the team.”
Hidalgo ISD is currently accepting applications for Post’s former position. The application deadline is today.
David Hinojosa covers girls basketball for Valley Freedom Newspapers. You can reach him at (956) 683-4442 or via email at dhinojosa@themonitor.com.
