Coach Roberto Montanez with the Monarch High School Football Team. {Courtesy)
When it comes to Monarch football, very few people put in as much work as Coach Roberto Montanez.
A 2015 graduate and four-year letterman on varsity, Montanez is entering the sixth season on the Monarch coaching staff. The journey to get here has been nothing short of spectacular. At 10 years old, Monatnez was in foster care at SOS Children’s Village.
Montanez said others may see it as something stressful and emotional for a young child. “But foster care was not my burden or the worst thing in my life. Far from it, actually. It helps me drive myself to new heights.”
With Monarch, he played four years with Monarch and shined in the classroom with a 3.7 GPA. As a player, he never had a losing season, was a part of the first District Championship in school history as a player, and has been a coach for the last two while the team also won their first Regional Title in school history last year.
During his senior year, he played on the offensive line and was selected to the First Team All-County, where he played in a pair of All-Star Games. He received five offers to play college football and went on to play for 3.5 years at the University of West Florida. He graduated early and received his bachelor’s in Sports management before transitioning to coaching.
He says the main reason for the transition was Coach Calvin Davis and William Murphy.
“They played huge roles in shaping the man I am today during my high school careers, and I consider them both father figures in an important time of my life as they guided me through these rough moments in my life while introducing me to the world of sports, real-life situations, and helping me even outside of school.”
Since 2019, over 50 of his players have gone on to play in college. He continues to give back to SOS Children’s Village and speak at multiple events to raise awareness of what the village does for the foster care community.
“I am blessed to be in the community that helped made me the man I am today, and to work at my alma mater to help the future generation of knights reach their goals and dreams is a blessing,” Montanez said.
While he begins to put in the work this spring, Montanez has also been a major part of helping the Knights travel out of state. After their best season in school history, the Knights are scheduled to travel to Georgia and Orlando this year to play. He hopes this opportunity will help with recruitment and give his players a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to play against some of the top teams in the country.
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