January 12, 2023
With 20 seconds remaining on the clock, Atascocita assistant coach Darnell Hale nudged the shoulder of head coach David Martinez.
The Eagles were just moments away from locking up a 60-55 victory over Van Buren during a holiday tournament on December 29. The nudge was to tell Martinez - “you’re about to get 500”.
As the buzzer sounded, it locked up Atascocita’s 13th win of the 2022-23 season and also the 500th career win as a head coach by Martinez.
“It’s one of those milestones that you accomplish after you’ve been around for so long,” Martinez said. “This is my 20th season as a head coach and to accomplish that this early, it’s pretty special. But it is attributed to all the former players, current players and the unbelievable staff that I’ve been able to put together. Definitely a team effort and it so happens we got to 500.”
Martinez started his coaching career as an assistant coach at DeSoto High School before getting his first head coaching position at Clear Brook. He stayed there for three years before moving to Humble High School, where he spent six seasons, before moving to Atascocita in 2012.
Heading into the season, Martinez realized that he was close to the milestone after having to write a bio for an event he was speaking at. The 10th-year Atascocita coach was 13 wins away, sitting at 487 victories at the beginning of the year.
But the veteran coach, who truly takes this one game at a time, wasn’t counting down to the mark but rather trying to get his team, which was coming off a 2022 State Tournament appearance, ready to go.
“I kind of forgot about it,” Martinez said. “I knew going into the year I was at 487 but I was worried about putting together this team after graduating 11 seniors last year and having 12 new faces and trying to teach the system we run. Then one of my assistants reminded me when we got to 497 and then I forgot about it again because you get caught up in the game.”
At the tournament, the milestone victory was announced to the crowd, a few photos were taken and then when the team returned home there were cupcakes for the team.
But the moment Martinez will truly remember the most is the moments with his team in the locker room after the win.
“I walked into the locker room and everybody had their water bottles ready,” Martinez said. “I got a cold shower right there, which was really cold. It was all in fun. It’s no different than winning the big game and getting the Gatorade tub on you. It was a moment I definitely won’t forget.”
As the season continues on into District 21-6A play, Martinez appreciates the magnitude of the milestone but is on to the next one, like any coach will tell you.
“I’m just trying to win the next one to be honest with you,” Martinez said. “I was trying to get to 501, got that and now I’m trying to get to 502.”