Connect with us

Hi, what are you looking for?

Irving Weekly Title

Sports

Irving Graduate Tabbed To Be The Tiger's Football Coach

On Monday, January 23rd, the Irving ISD Board of Trustees approved the hiring of Aaron De La Torre as the new head football coach of the Irving High School Tigers.

De La Torre has been an assistant coach at Denton Ryan for the past three years.  He had previously been an assistant coach at his alma mater, Stephen F. Austin State University from 2006-2009.

De La Torre replaces long-time coach, Jim Bennett, who retired after 28 years.  Bennett posted a 128-161-4 record at Irving. 

De La Torre graduated from Irving High School in 1993 where he played defensive tackle under Coach Bennett.  He earned a Bachelor of Science degree from SFA in 1997 and went on to play for the Pittsburgh Steelers, Dallas Cowboys and NFL Europe’s Scottish Claymores.

De La Torre faces a challenge in rebuilding the Tiger's football program.   Irving has had three consecutive 1-9 seasons.  Their lone victory this year came on the last game of the season, defeating city rival Nimitz by a score of 24-21.

Coach De La Torre's wife, Lori, is a graduate of Nimitz High School in Irving.  They have three children, Alex, Addison and Colt.

Although this is his first head coaching position, he did have success as the defensive line coach at Ryan High School, helping them reach the state championship game in 2010.

Coming from a program at Ryan that produced many wins, De La Torre has a plan for Irving.  “For me, we just have to get back to working on championship habits,” he said. “That’s working every day, it’s in the classroom, it’s waking up in the morning, it’s in the weight room — everything they do throughout their lives.

“When you start talking about wins and losses, they’ll start taking care of themselves when you start getting those habits built in.”

De La Torre's official start date at Irving High School will be Thursday, January 26.

You May Also Like