Angelina College

Head women’s soccer coach Sergio Gardea begins his first year leading the Lady Roadrunner program following a successful year at Jacksonville College, where in the fall of 2023 he led the Lady Jaguars to their most wins and their first Region XIV postseason victory in program history.

Before his head-coaching stint at Jacksonville, Gardea served as an assistant, helping boost the Lady Jaguars to their first national ranking in 2021. His time at Jacksonville included both recruiting and serving as goalkeeper coach, and came after his work as a volunteer assistant for the University of Texas-Tyler’s men’s program from 2017-2020.

A native of El Paso, Gardea graduated from Americas High School, serving as the boys soccer team’s goalkeeper, where he earned All-City Goalkeeper honors following his senior year. His skills landed him a spot at Cisco College, helping the team to its first national ranking in the history of the program.

Later, Gardea transferred to UT-Tyler, and in 2011 helped the team to the American Southwest Conference and ASC Tournament championships. That same season, UT-Tyler advanced to the final eight in the NCAA Division III national tournament – the farthest any Patriot men’s soccer team had ever advanced in a national tournament.

In addition, Gardea holds the school record for most shutouts by a goalkeeper in the Patriot soccer program.  

Gardea states his coaching approach has everything to do with developing a player’s decision-making abilities.

“I would say decision making is the most important thing I coach,” Gardea says. “I give them some guidance, but I also want to make sure they’re making the right decisions all the time. Soccer is not a sport where you can just call a timeout and reset everything. I have to make sure the girls know the plan, that they can make decisions and that they can see the game.

“A lot of my soccer philosophy relies on decision making and practice. That’s not just for soccer, but also for life, because those players are going to have to make decisions all their lives.”

Gardea is the son of Sara Santiesteban and Sergio Gardea, Sr. He’s the brother of Liz Hernandez.