Green Valley honors late coach by wearing decals on helmets

Juan Batiste wasn’t the most popular coach to every player who came through the Green Valley football program.

People like Batiste, who aren’t afraid to get in someone’s face and tell them what needs to be done, usually aren’t.

But for those who understood the love that was behind his straightforward approach, he was a mentor — a member of the family.

Loymon Juan Batiste had spent nearly a decade in the Green Valley program as a strength and conditioning and defensive coach before he died March 21 from a blood clot. He was 55.

“He was one of those fiery guys that could get in your face and (cuss) you, but you could take that as a player — and as a coach, too, he was tough on me, too — but it was because he loved the players and me,” Green Valley coach Clay Mauro said.

Green Valley will host Sierra Canyon (California) for its home opener Friday, with the players wearing black decals with “LLB” — live like Batiste — on their helmets.

Mauro said he wants his players to see that decal as a reminder of what Batiste taught them.

“I want them to hear his voice,” Mauro said. “When they look at the helmets, no matter what’s going on, it’s 105, 110 (degrees) and they’re tired, they need to remember there’s a guy upstairs (cussing) them for being tired. We want to remember there’s someone who expects greatness from them, and it’s somebody we idolized.”

Batiste grew up in Compton, California, and Mauro said he added an element of toughness to the program. But at the same time, he had an affinity with his fellow coaches and the players, some of whom regularly worked out at his house.

“I was always at his house working out,” senior linebacker Tyler Eenhuis said. “He’d push me there and on the field, too. He’d yell at you, but it was because he loved you. It sucks that he’s gone now because we don’t have that anymore.”

Senior linebacker Reagan Johnson said he heard about Batiste’s death from Eenhuis, and he thought he was playing a trick on him.

Fellow senior linebacker Christopher Aguayo said he didn’t find out until the coaches called the team to the weight room the day of Batiste’s death.

“We saw he was crying. We didn’t know what was going on,” Aguayo said. “We walked in, and he told us, and it was heartbreaking because I never expected him to be gone so early. I want him to be with us this season and watch us play.”

All three players said when they look at the decal on their helmets, it reminds them to keep working hard to make Batiste proud.

“He was more than a coach to us,” Johnson said. “He was more like family.”

Contact Jason Orts at jorts@reviewjournal.com. Follow @SportsWithOrts on Twitter.