BELLE GLADE – All Jose Garcia wants to do is be the best at his craft.
When it was revealed earlier this week that the Glades Central junior kicker/punter was our No. 3-ranked specialist in Palm Beach County, he was clearly not satisfied.
Garcia is currently ranked behind Lou Groza Award finalist Bernie Cueto (King’s Academy; No. 1) and kicker/punter Carson Wilt (Cardinal Newman; No. 2). He moved up a spot from No. 4 to No. 3, switching spots with kicker/punter Chase Dixon (Palm Beach Gardens; then-No. 3/now-No. 4).
“I will be competing for that No. 1 spot,” Garcia said. “I know I feel like I can. But it feels amazing to be in the top 3 now!”
There will be a lot of excitement that comes with the upcoming 2020 season in Palm Beach County. But nothing will be more exciting than the friendly competition that exists with several of our junior specialists, which also include the likes of Kevin Nievas (Palm Beach Central; No. 5-ranked ST), Chris Fervil (John I. Leonard; then-No. 5 ST), and Matthew Palma (Wellington; successor to Lou Groza Award winner/FAU signee Morgan Suarez).
“Yes it is,” Garcia said of the intense competition for this year’s Lou Groza Placekicker of the Year award. “I’m ecstatic to get back on that field and show out in the best way possible. I could say we’re probably the heaviest class for special teams!”
Garcia (5-foot-9, 197 pounds) was in a two-and-out kicking competition today with Cueto, Palma, and Nievas. He connected on five field goals, including a 58-yarder to beat out Palma in the final round at Seminole Palms Park in Royal Palm Beach.
“Once you miss two field goals, you’re out,” Garcia said. “I was happy to have won the competition. It was intense, but all of us did well today.”
JUNIOR SEASON FLASHBACK
Garcia has been working hard in the offseason to improve on a stellar junior campaign at Glades Central. In 10 games played, he was 5-for-7 on field goals, 21-for-21 on extra points (100 percent conversion rate), and 10-for-13 on touchbacks.
Garcia’s best moment came in the Muck Bowl against Pahokee, when he put Glades Central in position to win it with 4:35 left in the fourth quarter. His short field goal gave the Raiders a 17-14 lead over the Blue Devils, but it wasn’t enough as the road team came back to score a 21-17 win and end the home team’s season.
“I knew that the field goal against Pahokee would be big time because all eyes were on me,” Garcia said. “I just became more focused after the Miami Pace game (23-9 loss in Week 10). I sticked to my fundamentals while kicking the ball and I drove the ball through the middle. Not only that, I had great coaches and teammates to support me and become a good leader.”
Garcia was prominently featured on the 4th and Forever: Muck City documentary series, which can viewed on the CuriosityStream app. He had a lot to say about this past season, which ended prematurely due to an ineligibility matter that forced Glades Central to forfeit almost all of its games and finish with a 1-9 record.
“It was very good experience to just get a flashback to the season and how that ineligibility situation made me mature,” Garcia said. “It made become a better athlete because I knew that games were going to be close. We had tougher opponents ahead of us, and I knew I had to become one of the leaders on our team because I knew that most games could have come down to me. The 4th and Forever documentary showed me how I became more focused in the Miami Pace game and especially the Muck Bowl, when the pressure was on me.”
Garcia recapped his junior year at Glades Central.
“It was a great season until the ineligibility issue,” Garcia said. “Overall our team was pretty good, but we could have done a lot better. I had one of my most consistent seasons my junior year though.”
SENIOR DREAMS
With a coaching change that took place after the season ended at Glades Central, Garcia hopes to be a winner in more ways than one.
As new head coach and Glades Central 2007 alum Rashad Jackson takes the helm, Garcia is confident that he’ll end his senior year as a state champion. He feels quite strong about Jackson’s ability to lead the Raiders to a state title, something that ironically hasn’t been done since Jackson’s senior year of high school in 2006.
“He’s been very influential,” Garcia said of Jackson. “He’s a very kind man and very good coach who wants the best for each and every one of us. He motivates us to put work in everyday and makes sure to texts us every morning so that we get our work in. He knows the game very well, and I feel like we got a very good future ahead of us.”
Garcia was clear with his own goals for his upcoming senior season at Glades Central.
“First off, I just want to be the best kicker GC (Glades Central) has ever had and break records my senior year,” Garcia said. “I want to become the No. 1 kicker in the county and win the Lou Groza Award. I want to be very consistent and try not to miss a field goal. And for the team, I want all of us to be on the same page. I hope we get a championship ring on our way out.”
