Just another great Holtville student story!

FROM THE IMPERIAL VALLEY PRESS

GRIDIRON PROFILES: Vera inspires Vikings
By TOM RONCO, Special to this Newspaper

Thursday, September 3, 2009 10:53 PM PDT

Every team can use an inspiration.
Some teams are inspired by their coaches but this year’s Holtville High football team’s coaches are inspired by a player — Ignacio Vera.

Vera will be playing wide receiver and defensive back and when you meet him you might be tempted to question his coaches about those particular positions.

That’s because while Vera has decent size and speed for the positions and the requisite two arms and two legs, he plays them with the only hand — his right — with which he was born.

“My freshman year they needed someone to play wide receiver and I’m not sure I caught a pass,” Vera said. “Last year I wanted to play both (positions) on (junior varsity), but they put me on varsity as a cornerback.”

If the receivers he defended noticed anything, they never mentioned it.

“I’m sure they noticed but I’m sure they were thinking that I’m on varsity for a reason,” Vega said.

The reason was obvious to his coaches.

“He is one of the hardest workers on this team,” said Viking head coach Keith Smith Jr. “He worked hard all spring and summer and some of the things he does just amazes us.”

It wasn’t always so.

“I started playing softball, basketball and soccer at the middle school in the eighth grade basically to have fun that year and get to know more people,” Vera said. “Until then I had held back … I basically played soccer, where hands didn’t matter.”

Vera credits his Holtville Middle School coaches with turning his athletic life around.

“My coaches supported and encouraged me. They worked with me on my skills … like Miss Estrada, who taught me to shoot a basketball with one hand,” Vera said. “I gained confidence when I started doing things and then as I did them I gained more confidence.”

Arriving at Holtville High, Vera decided he was on a par with the other freshmen going out for football.

“There were not many of us who played Pop Warner, so we were all new to the sport and learned together,” Vera said.

His commitment to the sport caught everyone’s attention, especially when Smith took over this year and emphasized weight-training.

“I started bench-pressing this year and I was worried about how to do it, but my coaches and the other players helped me and they have ideas for my biceps and other muscles,” Vera said.

Vera also gets help at home.

“My younger brother is a freshman and he throws me passes and helps me out, and my parents and everyone support me,” Vera said.

Smith thinks Vera helps the team on many levels.

“He’ll help us on both offense (flanker) and defense (cornerback) ... he’s one determined kid,” Smith said.

“He doesn’t have a disability … he’s got heart and everyone should have his attitude and work ethic.”