Anzar High cross-country coach Faby Felix knows she has a major talent in junior Angel Garcia. The problem—and it’s a good problem at least—is Garcia has so much energy he doesn’t like to relax. Just like the Energizer Bunny, Garcia seemingly has no off button.
However, the 5-foot-8, 115-pound Garcia realized he overdid things a bit after he experienced some ankle discomfort last week, forcing him to miss a couple of practice days. Everyone has to learn the hard way, and Felix hopes Garcia listens to her when she tells him to take a day off.
After all, even the best runners in the world acknowledge recovery is just as important as the training.
“When I ask kids to rest or to have a recovery day, Angel doesn’t listen,” Felix said. “He’ll go out and bike hard for 13 miles. His work ethic is top notch, but if I could change anything, it would be for him to relax. You cannot run seven days a week. He doesn’t want to rest.”
No kidding. Everyday during his lunch period, Garcia does 60 pushups, 50 to 100 sit-ups, 20 leg raises and 20 leg scissors. The Anzar High junior also works on the weekends, as he started his own landscaping and lawn work business four years ago.
“Yeah, I’m a busy person,” Garcia said. “Part of the reason why I started my own business was I realized I had to get money on my own if I wanted to get what I wanted. I also wanted to help out my parents, too.”
Born and raised in Twin Falls, Idaho, Garcia loved the picturesque environment he grew up in. However, Garcia said he was also a target of bullying, and that experience goes a long way in explaining why he possesses a motivational drive that is always stuck in fifth gear.
Former Anzar High standouts Diego Leon and Diego Avila—they’re running at Montana State and Hartnell, respectively—are Garcia’s running inspirations. Garcia set a personal-record at Toro Park in the Coastal Meet on Oct. 8. His time of 17 minutes, 4 seconds over the 3-mile course represented a pivotal breakthrough, in that Garcia not only smashed his previous PR by 24 seconds, but he also took first place in the race.
Although Garcia has a long way to catch up to Leon or Avila—they consistently ran in the low to mid-16s during their senior year—Garcia remains undaunted.
“They’re my running inspirations, but I’m looking to surpass them,” Garcia said. “This year I’m hoping to shave as much time off the 17:04 I can, and by senior year I’m trying to break school records.”
Garcia is just beginning to show his enormous potential; due to grades and other circumstances, Garcia only ran one race as a freshman and four last season. But Garcia knew he had talent, and just as important, he’s always had a passion for running. Thoughtful and reflective, Garcia has improved his times by four minutes from his freshman season.
“That shows how much I can actually do in my life and inspires me to keep moving forward,” he said. “In my first and only varsity race my freshman year, I impressed myself knowing I could finally do a sport on my own. I’ve always had fun running.”
Felix has been impressed with Garcia’s development and increased maturity.
“I noticed in the beginning of the season, Angel wanted to keep to himself,” she said. “In warm-ups and cool downs, he separated himself. But as the season has gone along, I feel Angel is starting to show his own leadership skills—he’s really growing.”
Garcia said he’s starting to fit in more at Anzar, and it’s no coincidence for Garcia that having peace of mind off the course has translated to faster times on it. Garcia and his family have come a long way, making his breakthrough season all the more memorable.
“(In Twin Falls) I had to go through a lot of bullying issues,” he said. “My parents were also poor, so we had a lot of troubles. They’re doing better now, but I want to get into business and make enough money to get my parents a retirement fund because from the looks of it they won’t retire until they’re 70.”
Garcia is one of four children, and the oldest son. Garcia’s dad, Andrew, had a special reason for naming his first son Angel.
“I think my dad gave me that name because this was his second chance to make a positive thing out of life,” Garcia said.
