BEEVILLE, Tx — "My dad always said that when you retire, every day is a Saturday except for Sunday," is one of the many pieces of advice Coach Chris Soza's father gave him. Now, he's living up to that sentiment.
Soza has lived and breathed football since his high school days and seasons at Texas A&M University-Kingsville. After graduating, he traded his helmet for a playbook, beginning his coaching career in Palacios, Texas. Soza quickly made his way around the Coastal Bend, coaching in his hometown of Alice, as well as Mathis and Orange Grove, leading teams of all shapes and sizes.
No matter where Soza coached, his family was always by his side, with many of them on the sidelines. Soza coached his oldest son, Justin, during his eight years at Mathis. When he moved to Beeville to serve as head coach, his daughter Felicia and son Eric were students by day and ball girl and boy by night.
"When you have that opportunity to coach and then have your son (Justin) coach with you and then have your son (Eric) play for you, I mean, that's really special. And that's something that I think I'll always remember," Soza said.
Soza returned to coach the Beeville Trojans in 2019 with Eric. During this stint, he achieved a career milestone with a 27-25 upset over Calallen in 2023, marking his 200th career victory as head coach.
However, after the 2023 season, Coach Soza decided to put down the playbook.
“I think I've accomplished a lot, been blessed in my career," he said. "When you're 62-years-old and you still have your health, you want to do some things and be able to do things with your life."
While Soza has stepped off the field, his legacy continues with his son Eric, who took over as head coach and athletic director for Rockport-Fulton in May. The Pirates won their first game of the season over Orange Grove 42-38.
"I'm happy for him," Soza said, "And I know he's going to do well."
Since retiring, Soza told KRIS 6 News that he's been keeping busy and, once the weather cools down, he plans to enjoy activities like golfing and hunting.
Following our interview with Soza he wished to have the following statement published:
In closing I want to begin by thanking my parents, my mom and dad for encouraging and supporting me and my siblings on our journeys. I know my Dad is smiling down on us from Heaven. I want to thank my HS coaches beginning with our HC LG Henderson (may he RIP), Coaches Jim Gupton, Greg Johannsen, Brian Connally, and Joe Carrillo to name a few. Coach Carrrillo coached me in Middle school, Junior High and HS. He even came out of retirement and worked with me during my time in Alice. To this day he remains a close friend of mine. All of these great men are the reason why I wanted to become a teacher/coach. IN college Coach Pete Murray (may he rest in peace) recruited me and Head Coach Ron Harms took a chance on this wing-T QB and offered me a scholarship. I had some great college coaches that were positive role models as well.
As I mentioned earlier, Head Coaches Pat Walker, Gary Davenport/Jim Bob Mickler, and Billy Butler and their staffs taught me a lot as I began my career working with them. I want to thank all the men and women coaches that I had the privilege to work with as an assistant and as their AD/Head FB coach. Together we were successful and had the same vision of being positive role models for our student-athletes. I want to thank all the custodians, field maintenance workers, teachers, staff and administration and all those behind the scenes in helping to make us successful. Special thank you to all my athletic secretaries: Dolores Moreno in Mathis, Teresa Gonzales (may she RIP) in Beeville, Nelda Ayala in Alice, Lisa Newton in Medina Valley and my most recent secretary in Beeville Miss Chelsea Contreras...all of these special ladies were the ones that really ran the program...they made my job a lot easier and I will always be thankful to them.
The following coaches followed me to multiple schools: Kelly and Lisa Black, Jesse Baez, Joseph Alvarado, Adolfo Dominguez, Stephen Silva, Rene Silva, Greg Gonzales and Doc Lawrence Wood. Bobby Lindquist (HS best friend) and Ron Dauphin are others that were very instrumental in my early years as well at Mathis. But a huge thank you to all the coaches that have ever worked with or for me. We all had the same vision and cared about the kids we coached.
Finally, i want to thank my beautiful wife of 42 years, Colleen. She has sacrificed so much for our family. She allowed me to follow my dreams and did a heck of a job in raising our 3 wonderful kids. I couldn't have asked for a better "Coaches Wife". Thank you Babe!....I love you!
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