Immaculata-La Salle’s Valle is the Miami-Dade 3A-1A Football Coach of the Year

Helder Valle’s turnaround at Immaculata-La Salle can no longer be viewed as just a flash in the pan. La Salle is now sustaining success—and a second undefeated regular season in five years is proof.

After guiding the Royal Lions to the postseason for the third time in five seasons, Valle is the Miami Herald’s Miami-Dade County Football Coach of the Year for Classes 3A-1A.

Valle was the National Federation of High Schools Coaches Association’s Florida High School Athletic Association Coach of the Year in 2021 after he helped La Salle snap a nearly 50-year postseason drought. The Royal Lions followed up their 2021 breakthrough by missing the playoffs in each of the next two years, but have now made back-to-back playoff trips for the first time in nearly 50 years and did it on the strength of yet another undefeated regular season in 2025.

La Salle opened the season with 12 straight wins—including victories against Somerset Academy, St. Brendan, Mater Academy Charter, Somerset Academy Silver Palms and two against Ransom Everglades—to reach the Region 4-3A championship, where the Royal Lions fell just short against perennial powerhouse Cardinal Gibbons.

Before Valle arrived at La Salle, the Royal Lions had never even started a season with seven straight wins. Now, they’ve gone undefeated in the regular season twice and they did so emphatically in 2025. In 13 games, La Salle scored 455 points and gave up just 93—an average margin of victory of 27.8 points.

The Royal Lions did so with consistent complete efforts. La Salle had quarterback Nate Merrell Jr. account for more than 2,000 yards from scrimmage, had running back Adrian Cox run for more than 1,000 yards and total 20 touchdowns, and notched six shutouts.

Altogether, the season was the best in Royal Lions history—nothing unusual for Valle, who has transformed La Salle in his seven seasons at the school.