Henry Greenstein is an ASU Cronkite School of Journalism student assigned to cover Marcos de Niza High School for AZPreps365.com

When Robert Ortiz, the newly appointed track and field coach at Marcos de Niza High School, asked girls basketball coach Brianna Gholston if he could visit one of her team’s practices, his primary goal was to encourage the players to run track in the spring.

But Ortiz was also looking for a hurdles coach to add to his staff.

“I asked [Gholston] if she knew anybody, because she’s an alumna here,” he said.

It turned out Gholston herself, as a former track athlete, was interested.

“She jumped all over it,” Ortiz said. “She’s actually going to be helping us with hurdles, high jump and relays… [I was] just trying to promote the program to the girls, and boom — that’s how it happens.”

Ortiz’s recommendation to the Tempe Union High School District Governing Board as the Padres' new track coach was officially announced Monday. He has assembled a staff including coaches from across Marcos de Niza athletics. Gholston is joining a group that also features head football coach Anthony Figueroa, cross country coach Vaughn Popeney, and several other teachers and coaches. 

“Track is that one sport that correlates with any other sport,” Ortiz said. 

The versatile Ortiz has played several roles since arriving at Marcos in July. He leads the physical education department and served as offensive coordinator under Figueroa in the fall. 

Prior to joining Marcos, Ortiz spent two years coaching at Mingus Union High School — his alma mater, which he obliquely refers to as “up north.” Even earlier, he and Figueroa had been fellow position coaches at Mesa Community College, where Ortiz coached wide receivers and Figueroa coached tight ends. 

At the time, Figueroa’s experience had been primarily on defense. As such, Figueroa said, “I had the opportunity of learning from him at Mesa when I first arrived.”

This established a relationship that led to the two reuniting at Marcos in 2020.

“Robert is definitely a guy that can get the most out of everyone he coaches,” Figueroa said, “because he inspires them to want more from themselves.”

One key responsibility for Ortiz as track and field coach is recruiting athletes from other sports to run track in the spring.

“We really rely on, and we really produce, with those student-athletes that play in multiple sports,” said Kayla Melgar, Marcos’ administrative assistant for athletics.

Melgar cited seniors and strong runners Nate Camarena and Daivon Nelson, both also football players, as athletes she’s looking forward to Ortiz coaching.

Ortiz said he and the rest of the athletics department are on the same page, and noted that Marcos’ successful teams of the past featured multi-sport athletes.

“That seems to be a lost art in today’s athletics,” Ortiz said, “because so many kids are trying to specialize.”

Ortiz said he’s been running preseason workouts with the track team for about a month. In the process, he’s had to help his charges through another challenge: staying positive amid the pandemic. Last spring, the team’s season ended due to COVID-19 after just a few events. 

The schedule for this season isn’t set in stone just yet. Melgar said the board will officially confirm Ortiz’s hire by March 1, when spring sports begin. Beyond that, Ortiz said the exact start date of the Padres' Division III track season is uncertain, although competition can begin after March 15.

“If there’s anything we’ve learned this year,” Ortiz said, “it’s [to] expect the unexpected practically every minute of the day, and remain as flexible as possible.”

In the interim, Ortiz can count on his fellow coaches. Figueroa said Ortiz has already reached out to him for advice on the logistics of leading a team during the pandemic.

Figueroa added that coaching during a pandemic means demonstrating strength for one’s student-athletes.

“Being young, they’re for the most part not used to the peaks and the valleys,” he said, “and this pandemic has definitely increased those peaks and valleys.”

Ortiz said he sees coaching a diverse array of athletes in track and field, and helping them develop skills for their own preferred sports, as a chance for him to “become a leader, and a better overall person.” This spring, he’ll be doing it with a well-equipped staff by his side.

“It takes a village, man,” he said. “The right leaders, in terms of the village itself, are there, and now it’s about utilizing our resources and then pushing these kids.”