Former MFHS soccer coach repeats as coach of the year

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  Marble Falls boys soccer assistant coach Chuck Woods (left) and former head coach Rick Hoover with the numerous gold trophies representing the program championships the two have guided the Mustangs to capturing. Contributed photos

  Marble Falls boys soccer assistant coach Chuck Woods (left) and former head coach Rick Hoover with the numerous gold trophies representing the program championships the two have guided the Mustangs to capturing. Contributed photos
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  Former Marble Falls boys soccer head coach Rick Hoover (left) is pictured here with athletic director Keri Timmerman, during a previous coach of the year designation.

  Former Marble Falls boys soccer head coach Rick Hoover (left) is pictured here with athletic director Keri Timmerman, during a previous coach of the year designation.

Former Marble Falls High School boys soccer head coach Rick Hoover was voted the 2024 Re gion 8 Coach of the Year by the Texas High School Coaches Association.

THSCA has the most members of any coaches association in the country.

Hoover, who “retired from coaching” at the end of the 2023-24 school year, won the same award in 2023.

“I guess they’re running out of people,” he jokingly said.

And yet it’s no joke what Hoover and the Mustangs have accomplished during his decade at the helm.

Under his direction, Marble Falls qualified for the playoffs six times, competed in 18 postseason matches and won 12. Mar- ble Falls' best playoff fin ish was at the 2018 Class 5A Region IV semifinals.

Last season the Mustangs were ranked No. 1 in the region before their first loss, which came in tournament play. Marble Falls was the preseason favorite to repeat as the District 25-4A champi ons, which they did to ensure the program had its only two district titles. Four of Hoover’s other squads finished as district runners-up. Marble Falls’ 2024 season ended in a loss to Boerne High, the state’s No. 1 ranked team in Class 4A, in the third round of the playoffs.

Hoover's team-first outlook throughout his career may best explain why his peers think highly of him. Hoover has a 70 percent winning percentage as the Mustangs’ head coach and was twice named the district coach of the year and the Texas all-star game coach to go with his regional coach of the year honors. Two publications named him the coach of the year.

The boys soccer program has 125 players, the largest on the campus, and some years it has more, which brings up some feats that are especially close to Hoover’s heart.

He’s had four Mustangs earn collegiate soccer scholarships and his players showed they were committed to excelling in the classroom that ensured coaches didn’t have to sweat out progress reports and report cards. He’s had 17 players who were named academic all-district and six who were academic all-state.

"Academically my first year here, we were strug- gling to fill the team be cause kids struggled with grades,” he said when he announced his retirement in April. “(Now) I don’t remember the last time I lost a kid to grades. Six of my seniors this year are in the top 10 percent, which is huge. Some of them are in the top 3 percent. That’s a big number. They are tremendous student-athletes. That speaks for itself. The shift on the academic side of this is significant.

That’s what it’s all about.

Cause 99.9 percent aren't going to make a living in sports.”

Now that he’s had a few more weeks to re- flect, Hoover summed up his decade of guiding the Mustangs.

"When I got here, there wasn’t much history of soccer,” he said. “My predecessor did a good job and is doing a great job (at his other school). I took a job coming from a state championship program -- Frisco Wakeland. A lot of people told me, ‘You realize they don’t have a winning history there.”

In setting out to change that, Hoover focused on getting to know his players and what made each one tick and their families. That’s the only advice he offered to younger coaches.

“I’m not a great coach and never claimed to be,” he said. "What I am pret ty good at is relationships.

We build bonds that last forever.”

While his retirement story was all about him, Hoover emphasized this time and this honor is all about those who have been with him every step of the way.

He used the word “family” to describe his staff that included Chuck Woods, Ryan Craven and Aaron Jimenez. Craven was recently promoted to head coach.

"Chuck Woods is not just a great coach, he’s a tremendous person,” Hoover said.

In addition, Hoover’s wife, Natalie, and children Macy and Hayden have been there for the thrills and the agonies that come when your loved one is the man in charge.

“It’s been a good journey,” Hoover said. “My family has been heavily involved. When we lose, Natalie feels it and probably more than me. It’s definitely a family affair."

Jennifer Fierro publishes reports about area youth athletic events on her website TexasChalkTalk.com. To send her a note, email fierrojennifer@yahoo. com.