After serving as the 2014 team captain during one of the strongest seasons in boys soccer in recent years, Jose Salazar is rejoining the Jackets as the head coach.

                Salazar is coming to Cleburne following two years as an assistant coach with the Texas Wesleyan University men’s soccer program, and countless seasons coaching rec and club soccer. But it was that final year of Jackets soccer as the team leader that may have been his first step toward a coaching career.

                “We had a young team that year but we went far,” Salazar said. “We were undefeated in District and went three rounds in the playoffs. It was very exciting. We had gone through coaching changes from the time I was a freshman. As a senior, knowing our situation—a new coach and a young team—I felt I needed to step up, set the tone and be a role model.”

                “Leadership can play such a big role on a team, along with the impact and guidance of a coach,” he said. “Grades were a big issue for us in my senior year. We had lots of study sessions. Even if I was not there helping someone with their homework, I just wanted to be around. I wanted everyone on our team passing in their grades. I admit I wanted to have a good senior year in soccer, and I wanted to keep all my teammates on track and passing their classes.”

                The bond within that 2014 team was also a contributor to the success of their season, according to Salazar.               

“A lot of us played against each other or were on the same team growing up,” he said. “We had a bond and respected each other—there were no arguments. It was a great atmosphere. I still stay in touch with many of those players, and still play soccer with some of them.”

                While soccer season was a major part of his student experience at CHS, Salazar enjoyed being a Jacket every day—not just game days. His schedule included advanced classes and he was a member of National Honor Society.

                “I was blessed to have great teachers, which shows a lot about our district,” he said. Salazar is a product of Cleburne schools, having attended Cooke and Marti Elementary, followed by Wheat Middle School. “Every day was great. I was always offered help from my teachers. I loved high school.”

                Following graduation, he continued in his academic journey at The University of Texas at Arlington, where he took a hiatus from soccer.

                “I loved soccer, but playing in college was not engrained in my mind,” Salazar said. “I wanted to be an architect and felt it should be strictly school for me. I didn’t play soccer at all and so missed it. I eventually changed my major to business and started teaching private soccer lessons. I think that’s where thoughts about coaching soccer really began to develop.”

                Salazar eventually built a team from his six original students and coaching select soccer was added to his game plan while he continued to pursue a Bachelor’s degree. It also impacted his career plan.

                “I got my business degree in 2019,” he said. “A lot of my friends were now teachers in Cleburne and they always had great stories and experiences to tell. The more I listened to them, the more I began to think about teaching as something I would like to do. I loved working with kids.”

                Salazar would go on to obtain teaching certifications in math and Special Education. About that time, an opportunity to coach soccer at the college level popped up.

                “A coach I have known from the soccer world had an opening for an assistant coach at Texas Wesleyan,” Salazar said. “He wanted me to come on and learn. I didn’t have to think twice about the opportunity.”

                “It was an eye-opening experience,” he said. “A lot of the guys I was coaching were my age or even older. But they respected me and listened to what I had to say as a coach. It affirmed to me I was on the right path.”

                Salazar says the prospect of returning to Yellow Jacket Soccer came from the bond he has continued to maintain with the community where his family still resides.

                “I used to coach rec soccer in Cleburne, and know boys who are currently on the team,” he said. “They reached out to me and said I should apply for the head coaching job which had just come open. It was out of the blue, but I thought I should at least apply and see what happens. The next week I was contacted—and I was so excited.”

                The former Jacket soccer player felt he put some points on the board during his Zoom interview with school and district administrators. He actually scored the winning goal, according to Athletic Director Jeri Larrison-Hall.

                “We are very excited to welcome Jose Salazar to our Jacket Family,” Hall said. “He will be able to make a connection right away with our student athletes, being that he is a Cleburne graduate and a product of the CHS soccer program. I know that he is eager to get to work with the kids and take our boys soccer program to the next level.”

                That’s definitely the mission, according to Salazar.

                “In my final season, I felt as a team we carried on the pride of the boys soccer program, and we had pride in being Yellow Jackets,” he said. “That’s what I want to build on and continue as a coach.”

                His game plan includes putting a very competitive team on the field, but also one that is competitive in the classroom.

                “These kids are student athletes and being students comes first,” Salazar said. “Our program will include high expectations in academics. That will benefit our players and give them more college opportunities. I’m a first generation college graduate, and there is such pride in that within my family. My parents were always big on academics.”

                “I want to encourage and instill the importance of academics and the possibility of college in our players,” he said. “That’s a big part of what I want to do.”

                In addition to Salazar, there’s another new face in the boys soccer coaching lineup. CHS social studies teacher Matt Moulden will be taking the field for the Jackets as an assistant coach for the 2020-21 season. Moulden grew up playing soccer and is an avid follower of FC Dallas and two European teams.

                “I had Mr. Moulden in my senior year in economics,” Salazar said. “I loved going to his class. He knew all about soccer and I enjoyed talking with him about it. Having him and Coach (Cody) Avalos, it will make the team stronger than ever.”

                “I’m looking forward to coaching with Jose Salazar,” Moulden said. “He was a great student in my AP macroeconomics class and I remember talking soccer with him and his friends many times, including giving each other a hard time when our favorite teams would play each other. Jose will be great for Cleburne. He wants to build a program that will rival the best in the state, and being from Cleburne will give him the drive to make it a reality.”

                With CISD teachers back on campus preparing for the August 31 start to the school year, Salazar is finding his way around the new CHS, and a new playing environment in which the soccer teams compete on turf.

                “That’s a new tradition for the soccer program since I was at CHS,” Salazar said. “I actually attended some of the games last year and it was great to see the new facilities. It’s really exciting to see how things have grown here in Cleburne. The kids are so blessed with these new facilities and I want my players to take advantage of the opportunities they’ve been given. There’s no excuse for us not to be a championship team with all these resources, with what we have now.”