Cardinals OC Robert Fraga defines hard work, preparation

HARLINGEN — Cardinals offensive coordinator Robert Fraga has football down to a science.

Literally.

The AP physics teacher at Harlingen High School is in his 15th year coaching football and first as OC for his alma mater, the Cardinals.

Fraga was raised on one philosophy: hard work pays off.

From his parents to his coaches at Harlingen, Fraga's used his upbringing to get ahead in life.

And whether it's teaching in the classroom or the practice field, Fraga instills the same work ethic and values to his students and athletes.

"I'm a hands on guy," Fraga said. "When I do something or I'm in charge of something, I want to see it through. That's what males this profession great.

"The greatest gift as a coach is seeing your plan or idea materialize on the field."

Fraga will be the first to tell you, it's not as easy as he makes it sound.

Fraga grew up in Fair Park in north Harlingen. He was a migrant worker along with his family and admits that he can't remember when he didn't work.

"One of my favorite words I like to use out here is 'work,'" Fraga said. "Work is force times distance. And we're going to work out there. We're going to push it to the distance. If we're running a route, we're going to simulate a game-type situation. If we're looking at game type speed, I know it's going help out."

Fraga gets an early start to his day every day. Up even before the crack of dawn, Fraga said getting up early was the only way growing up.

His mother had him and his brothers doing chores before the Fraga group even got ready for school.

Physical labor was always a part of Fraga's life, so getting up early to watch film is nothing now.

And Fraga reminds his students and players every day that nothing is handed to them in life.

"This is a game of time and inches," Fraga said. "You have to use your time wisely. You have to utilize your practice time effectively. If you're not pushing everyone, time ticks away. Before you know it, it's game time. And how much did you work? How effective are you going to be?"

Fraga, who's more likely to quote Isaac Newton during one of his practice than Vince Lombardi, got his coaching start at La Feria in 1994, where he worked under former coach Gil Ledbetter.

Ledbetter was the defensive coordinator under Jesse Longhofer at Harlingen when Fraga played linebacker and fullback.

Actually, Fraga played with current Rio Hondo head coach Rocky James and Harlingen South head coach Gilbert Leal at Harlingen.

Fraga remained at La Feria for six years before heading to Brownsville as the defensive coordinator for under Farley Trevino at Porter for one year.

In 2001, he moved closer to home as an assistant under Elvis Hernandez at Santa Rosa, where he stayed two seasons before moving to Harlingen South for four years under John Lerma and Jim Helms.

In three years under Helms, Fraga coached defensive backs.

Then when Harlingen head coach Manny Gomez got the head coaching gig, Fraga came over as the DC.

When Spencer Gantt took over as OC last year, Fraga moved to offense and coached the running backs.

He was promoted to coordinator after Gantt left for San Benito.

And while Harlingen basically runs the same spread offense Gantt installed last year, Fraga tweaked it a little putting more emphasis on running and blocking.

"You have to establish the run before you can pass," Fraga said. "I love blocking. And offense starts with blocking. Defense is about tackling and offense is about blocking."

Fraga uses his background in science and physics to teach the game in the most laymen's of terms.

And so far, it's worked.

Harlingen finished the regular season averaging 404.5 yards per game.

Quarterback Mack Sanchez has flourished under Fraga and his assistants. He's a 2,000-yard passer and accounted for over 40 touchdowns.

RB Pablo Garza is a 1,000-yard rushers and scored nearly 20 TDs.

But most impressively, a young and inexperienced offensive line as emerged as possibly the No. 1 reason why the Cards are considered one of the best teams in South Texas in Week 13.

"The guys just refuses to lose," Gomez said of his friend. "He's not going to let anyone outwork him. His work ethic is second to none. He's a very smart guy. And whether it's physically or mentally, he's going to outwork you."

Eladio Jaimez covers District 31-5A for Valley Freedom Newspapers.