Reagan’s Garavito and Pacheco are the Miami-Dade Boys’ Volleyball Coaches of the Year
They made school history and nearly brought home the school’s first state championship.
For Reagan High School in Doral, it was a memorable season for boys’ volleyball.
Guided by the coaching tandem of Joshua Garavito and Alberto Pacheco, the Bison advanced to their first state final and went 25-5, proving themselves one of the top teams overall in the state.
For those efforts, Garavito and Pacheco are the Miami Herald’s Boys’ Volleyball Coaches of the Year for Miami-Dade County.
The Florida High School Athletic Association expanded boys’ volleyball to a three-classification format for the first time this season.
The Bison surged through the Class 2A playoffs and to their first ever final before losing to Winter Park Lake Howell in the championship game.
But Reagan proved itself a worthy contender in any classification.
Led by its 10 seniors including outside hitter Yeison Gonzalez, a Barry University commit, the Bison beat some of Dade’s best teams including two wins over Class 3A state runner-up Southwest and victories over Columbus, Palmetto and Belen Jesuit.
Unfortunately for Reagan, it met its match against Lake Howell in the 2A final.
“I’m happy (we won a state runners-up trophy) but I would have preferred the state championship,” Garavito said at the state finals. “My boys did a great job this year.”
Before this season, the Bison had never advanced past the regional semifinals.
Although they will have to replace the bulk of its roster, and losing Gonzalez will hurt, Garavito and Pacheco feel they have the foundation for future success in the sport at the school as one of their top returning players, junior setter Diego Requena can attest.
“We built this program from nothing. My freshman year we didn’t even make it to district quarter finals,” Requena said at state. “This year, we just put in the work and it all came together.”
