New kids on the block: Dr. Joaquin Garcia officially enters high school sports scene

LAKE WORTH — There's a new player on the Palm Beach County preps scene.

Twenty-two varsity sports teams have been added to 2023's master schedule with the opening of Dr. Joaquín García High, the Palm Beach County School District's first new campus in nearly two decades.

"In many sports, we may have freshman, JV, and varsity teams because we've had so much involvement already," said activities and athletic director Pam Romero.

The school opened its gates on Thursday. Members of the student government, cheerleaders and the band welcomed the first Bulldogs into the breezeway with the fight song.

Get ready for fall football! Atlantic takes aim with plan to beat St. Thomas Aquinas

Preseason pre-reads: Meet 11 new coaches taking the field this fall

"Based on this morning’s response, I would say the community is rallying behind the Bulldogs," Romero said.

Here are four things to know about García sports before games officially kick off this fall:

Meet the athletic director

With the start of the fall semester, Romero has officially opened her second athletic department. In 2004, she was named the first athletic director of Park Vista, the second-newest high school in the district.

Romero's been serving the Bulldogs since the spring, balancing the duties of creating a new athletic department while completing her final season at Park Vista.

"Honestly, the spring was challenging," Romero said. "It was very important to me to ensure I dedicated the same time and energy that I always had to my coaches and student-athletes at Park Vista. Needless to say, sleep was overrated during those months."

Highlighted by a final four appearance for the baseball team, a region runner-up title for boys volleyball, and a region semifinal run in softball, another season saw the Cobras reign as a spring sports powerhouse. It was nearly impossible to tell that Park Vista's athletic department was undergoing a major turnover.

"The athletic success through the years I was at Park Vista is something that I take great pride in. We were able to truly build a foundation with our administration, coaches, athletes and community that focused on building and maintaining successful programs for all of our student-athletes," Romero said.

'State-of-the-art' facilities include gym, beach volleyball court

"Twenty years ago, the facilities and amenities at Park Vista were incredible," Romero said. "Fast-forwarding 20 years, the district has provided Garcia High School with state-of-the-art facilities that are incredible."

Finishing touches are still being made for the Bulldogs' spring venues, but García is prepared to accommodate its fall sport athletes.

The gym, estimated to hold "850-ish" fans, is ready for a historic season of girls volleyball. Many of those players can look forward to playing on the only public school beach volleyball court in the spring.

Making history as the area's first, García's blue turf field that's been all the buzz will be ready for the football team's inaugural home game on Sept. 1 against Hollywood Hills.

Romero said García student-athletes, coaches and community members "can't wait" to open the season in Bulldog territory.

First look at football with coach Brandon Walker

Football coach Brandon Walker has been busy this offseason preparing the Bulldogs for a debut of their "Carolina blue" threads on Aug. 18 at Olympic Heights in the Kickoff Classic.

"When you look at our roster, it looks like a JV roster as far as age and grade," Walker said. He's "very excited" for his young guys and commends the few juniors he does have for "stepping up as leaders for the program."

One of those incoming standouts is Class of 2025 linebacker and fullback recruit Sergio Mesa from Santaluces.

"He just works. He's a grinder. Super physical. Really understands the game of football. My kind of kid. Gets a little underestimated because of his size and the measurables — but he makes plays, he's all over the place, and we love that about him," Walker said.

The bulk of players fed in from Santaluces, John I. Leonard and Palm Beach Central, as well as Park Vista, which was Walker's most recent coaching stop. A majority have never played high school football before coming to García.

"I think they're going to get more opportunities here than they would have gotten at their previous schools, which is exciting for them and exciting for us," Walker said.

He isn't "necessarily concerned" with the numbers on the scoreboard in year one. Walker says this season is about "development" for the team, competing independently this fall.

"For the outside, that's a measuring stick for them, but for those in our program, we know we're headed in the right direction."

Since a 23-28 record earned in five seasons as head coach of Cooper City, Walker's stints at Boca Raton and Park Vista haven't been chock-full of victories. At García, though, he'll have the opportunity to do something he hasn't had anywhere else. Something even his father, freshly retired Byron Walker — a South Florida legend for his success at Archbishop McCarthy, American Heritage-Plantation and Glades Day — didn't get to do.

"When the opportunity was presented to me to be able to move with my family to a new school, it was very exciting. My dad's been a high school coach for a long time and he never actually started the program from scratch," Walker said.

'Phenomenal' staff on deck for Bulldogs

"To really come in ground zero, there's nothing on the walls and for us to be able to create it wasn't something I could pass up," Walker said. "Especially the fact that my work family was involved with it. I was able to bring some really good coaches and friends as well from Park Vista, so this place felt like home right away, and that's where I want to be."

Seven coaches from Park Vista joined the athletic department at García.

"At this point in my career, I don’t think I can work for another AD," girls and boys volleyball coach Erica Green said with a laugh, having coached in Palm Beach County since 1999.

"I have been teaching for 25 years and have never 'opened up' a school before, so that to me was very enticing, while the unknown was very scary — I was at the point at PV where I was on cruise control. Now, there is no precedent for Garcia volleyball. I am creating it, which is an amazing feeling."

At Park Vista last fall, Green's boys volleyball team made a 23-7 run for back-to-back region final appearances against King's Academy. The season before, her squad went 26-4, the best in program history.

A sought-after coach after 12 successful seasons at PV, Green said girls came from 25 different schools to try out for Bulldog volleyball. Among players to look for this fall are 6-foot Lyla Buser from Palm Beach Central and PV transfer Izzy McNeil leading the offense, and a "pretty good defense" commanded by another former Bronco, Dani Garrido.

"I was very nervous about having so many different schools and backgrounds that the girls came from and if it would work. But it has, so the nerves have turned into total excitement to see how they are coming together and progressing during this offseason," Green said.

Preseason jitters at García are a relief after months in the spring weighing whether she would "make the leap" from Vista.

"PV was my community school. Both of my children graduated from there. I had also spent 15 years teaching at Woodlands Middle, which was a feeder school for PV. So, I knew many families and students from PV personally. It took awhile to build up the volleyball programs there and they were very successful," Green said.

When Romero asked Green to consider making the move to García, she was "completely torn." Green felt loyalty to her returning Cobras but also a loyalty to the woman who gave her the opportunity to build the girls and boys programs at PV.

"There is no other AD in the county that I would want to work for, that I feel has my back, that goes over and above for her coaches like Pam Romero does. She alone was one of my deciding factors to make the switch," Green said.

The Cobras' bowling coach Krystal Lamb, cross-country and track and field coaches Ryan Callahan and Dan Barry, flag football coach Carlton Smith, and boys soccer coach Donovan Scott also made the move to Garcia, 6 miles to the northwest of Park Vista.

"We feel very confident that we have assembled a phenomenal team. The entire staff is excited and hands-on in ensuring Bulldog Nation is successful," Romero said.

Check out the extended list of García's first coaches:

• Baseball − Nick Franco

• Basketball (boys) − Antwan Harrington

• Basketball (girls) − Nesly Shackleton

• Beach volleyball and golf (boys) − Andrew Elder

• Cheerleading − Danielle Averso

• Golf (girls) − Jeffery Caro

• Lacrosse (boys) − Matthew Merman

• Lacrosse (girls) − Megan Mehter

• Soccer (girls) − Bobby Moore

• Softball and Weightlifting (girls) − Marni Greenstein

• Swimming and Tennis (boys/girls) − Allison Nygren

• Weightlifting (boys) − Thomas Marciante

• Wrestling (coed) − Matthew Perlongo

Emilee Smarr is the high school sports reporter for The Palm Beach Post. She can be reached via email at esmarr@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Dr. Joaquin Garcia officially enters Palm Beach high school sports scene