|
|
R E S O L U T I O N
|
|
|
WHEREAS, Robert Capello of Edcouch-Elsa High School has |
|
|
achieved a distinguished place in the annals of Texas high school |
|
|
athletics by winning more than 900 games in the course of his |
|
|
extremely successful career as a basketball coach; this proud son |
|
|
of South Texas has also earned acclaim for mentoring students in |
|
|
other sports and for his notable accomplishments as a high school |
|
|
quarterback, all of which have contributed to a sports legacy that |
|
|
has made him a renowned figure in the Rio Grande Valley for many |
|
|
decades; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, The son of migrant workers, Robert Capello spent his |
|
|
childhood summers helping his family in the fields and attended |
|
|
school in La Sera and later in the Edcouch-Elsa Independent School |
|
|
District; by the time he reached high school, he had developed into |
|
|
a talented athlete, and he helped lead the Edcouch-Elsa Yellow |
|
|
Jackets football team to a perfect 10-0 season; he received |
|
|
all-state honors for his inspired play, and he was later selected as |
|
|
a Rio Grande Valley All-Millennium quarterback representing the |
|
|
class of 1959-1960; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, Mr. Capello's football skills won him a scholarship |
|
|
to the Texas College of Arts and Industries, where he graduated with |
|
|
a bachelor's degree in biology in 1965; he later undertook graduate |
|
|
studies and earned degrees from Sam Houston State University and |
|
|
Sul Ross State University; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, Robert Capello's coaching career began in 1965 at |
|
|
Mission High School, where he assisted student-athletes on all of |
|
|
the school's sports teams; he subsequently held coaching jobs at |
|
|
five other Texas high schools before returning to his alma mater, |
|
|
Edcouch-Elsa High School; he has worked there for more than a |
|
|
quarter-century, and during that time he has coached football and a |
|
|
variety of other sports in addition to his well-known tenure as the |
|
|
Yellow Jackets' basketball coach; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, Building a monumental career one game at a time, |
|
|
Coach Capello has accumulated a long list of impressive |
|
|
achievements; with 920 basketball victories, he ranks third among |
|
|
the active high school coaches in the country and is counted as the |
|
|
14th most successful high school coach of all time; in 2005, he |
|
|
became the first Hispanic coach in the United States to log 800 |
|
|
victories; his Yellow Jackets teams have made more than 20 |
|
|
appearances in the state playoffs and have been crowned district |
|
|
champions numerous times; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, This gifted mentor is greatly respected by his |
|
|
peers; he has been selected as district coach of the year 14 times |
|
|
and Rio Grande Valley Coach of the Year twice and has served in |
|
|
leadership roles with the Texas Association of Basketball Coaches, |
|
|
the Texas High School Coaches Association, and the Rio Grande |
|
|
Valley Basketball Coaches Association; in 2003, he was inducted |
|
|
into the Rio Grande Valley Sports Hall of Fame; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, Throughout his career, Coach Capello has enjoyed the |
|
|
support of his wife, Gloria Yarritu Capello, and their four sons, |
|
|
Robert, Rick, Ronny, and Randy, all of whom played basketball on |
|
|
their father's teams during high school; Mr. and Mrs. Capello also |
|
|
take great pride in their 10 grandchildren; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, This admired leader has spent more than four decades |
|
|
coaching high school sports, and his accomplishments can be |
|
|
measured not only in record-book victories but in his ability to |
|
|
teach young athletes the value of teamwork and dedication and the |
|
|
importance of delivering their best effort; through his enlightened |
|
|
leadership, Robert Capello has positively influenced several |
|
|
generations of students at Edcouch-Elsa High School and made a |
|
|
valuable contribution to his community; now, therefore, be it |
|
|
RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 80th Texas |
|
|
Legislature hereby honor Robert Capello for his exemplary record of |
|
|
athletic achievement and extend to him best wishes for continued |
|
|
success; and, be it further |
|
|
RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be |
|
|
prepared for Mr. Capello as an expression of high regard by the |
|
|
Texas House of Representatives. |
|
|
Pena |
|
|
|
|
|
______________________________ |
|
|
Speaker of the House |
|
|
I certify that H.R. No. 1802 was adopted by the House on May |
|
|
18, 2007, by a non-record vote. |
|
|
|
|
|
______________________________ |
|
|
Chief Clerk of the House |