Former Americas standout finds success as coach at Fort Hancock in basketball, softball

After a standout basketball career at Americas High School and later a successful college softball career at LSU-Alexandria, Paulean Gonzalez didn't think coaching and teaching were in the plans.

But life's path for the 2012 Americas graduate and 2016 graduate of LSU-Alexandria went in another direction after she received her bachelor's degree in criminal justice. Fort Hancock High School, which is 55 miles east of El Paso on I-10 and located in Hudspeath County, came calling and Gonzalez is now a math teacher, girls basketball and softball head coach for the Mustangs.

This season the Mustangs are enjoying the best season since Gonzalez arrived at the school after graduating college. Fort Hancock is 20-6 overall and 3-1 in District 6-2A with games against McCamey and Wink remaining in the regular season. The Mustangs are headed to the playoffs for the first time since 2016.

"I grew up in Fort Hancock before moving to El Paso in middle school, so this community holds a special place for me," Gonzalez said. "It's been a great experience for me to be able to impact young people and see the growth in them in the classroom, in life and in sports. I've learned a great deal, I enjoy what I'm doing."

Softball is Gonzalez' passion and she started the Fort Hancock program in 2020. But basketball has taken off this year. The team has been solid all season and is led by one of the best players in area, Alessandra Jimenez, who averages 20.6 points, 10.7 rebounds and 5.8 assists a game.

"A great athlete, she does it all for our school," Gonzalez said. "She really has stepped up this season and all of our team has. It's really been a special season for these girls and we only have three seniors, so we're excited for the future."

Jimenez, who also plays volleyball, softball and competes in track and field, said Gonzalez has been a perfect fit for the student-athletes at Fort Hancock.

"Coach Gonzalez is real patient with us, she takes her time to teach us about the game," Jimenez said. "This year in basketball has been great. Our chemistry has been strong, we play well on defense, we play as a team. I try to bring my best every day with great energy and I look to be a good all-around player."

Fort Hancock has also gotten strong play this season from Adriana Barrera (9.5 points a game), Jackeline Arriaga (7.0 points a game) and Marisol Diaz (7.2 points a game).

"We're growing as a team and our goal is to make this program a consistent winner and we will do that by playing well as a team, listening to coach and working hard every day," Jimenez said.

Added player Brisa Hinojos: "It's really been a great season for us and a total team effort. We're learning a great deal from coach Gonzalez and she'll continue to help the student-athletes get better. We want to finish the regular season strong and hopefully that leads to success in the playoffs. It's been several years since we got this far and had this type of success, it's been lots of work but certainly worth it."

Fort Hancock was once a power in the six-man football world, winning five state titles in a seven-year span in the late 1980's and early 1990's.

Since then, the school has found successes in volleyball, tennis, track and field/cross country and baseball. Now perhaps, Gonzalez will help lead the Fort Hancock girls basketball and softball programs to new heights.

"I've been fortunate to lean on some coaches and how they've gotten it done," Gonzalez said. "I try to keep learning every day. We're a small school and our kids play multiple sports. We just want to keep building and keep improving to be the best we can be."

State rankings

On the boys side, Chapin is ranked No. 19 in Class 5A by the Texas Association of Basketball Coaches, Harmony Science Academy is ranked No. 24 in Class 4A and Tornillo is ranked No. 18 in Class 3A.

On the girls side, Franklin is ranked No. 25 in Class 6A and Burges is ranked No. 25 in Class 5A.

More: Parkland boys hoops team wins Parkland boys basketball team continues winning ways in District 2-5A

Felix F. Chavez can be reached at fchavez@elpasotimes.com; @Fchavezeptimes on Twitter

This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: Former Americas standout finds success as coach at Fort Hancock