Mario Flores, 18, began his senior year at Phillip and Sala Burton Academic High School in the Portola neighborhood with one goal: for the school’s soccer team to move up to the top division of the Academic Athletic Association.
But when the college students slated to coach the team said they wouldn’t return at the end of last season, the team was left with no coach.
Flores, motivated to win, took it upon himself to do something unusual: Coach his teammates.
“I was like, you know what? I’ve been an assistant coach before,” he said. “I just took what I learned from SFLE, and coached the team as best I can.”
Although teammates said Flores “gave up his own playing time” to coach the team, he said he didn’t mind.
“I just wanted people to be happy at the end of season and still have a connection with others on the team.”
In their final game of the season — a quarter-final game against the Division 1 Washington Eagles — the Burton Pumas lost 3-0. But they ended the season at the top of Division 2, which means they are moving up next season.
“There were tears of joy from me,” Flores said. “Once we realized that, oh my gosh, we made it to D1, it was a very happy moment.”
How a senior led his teammates to triumph
The team started off the school year confused and unsure of their future. The review process for becoming a coach for a high school team can take up to a month, Flores said. They didn’t have time for that.
“We were wondering if we were going to have a coach,” said freshman Zeke Levien. Without one, they didn’t even have access to the school’s facilities for practice.
The girls team had two coaches: PE teacher Brian Pan and assistant girls coach Daniel Feifer, who teaches physics. Pan and Feifer helped the boys out by opening the school’s field when the team needed to practice, Levien explained.
But other than that assistance, Flores took charge. “When Mario stepped up, it felt good,” said Levien. “He knows a lot about soccer.”
Starting the first week of December, with less than a month until the first game, Flores began coaching the team intensely. They practiced almost every day, sometimes early in the morning before classes started and sometimes during the weekend.
That included winter break practices at nearby Crocker-Amazon Park and a practice the day after Christmas during a torrential rainstorm.
“It was fun practicing when it rained,” Levien recalled.
Flores said he expected 10 to 12 people to show up, out of a team of 25. There were 14 that day.
Levien’s dad, Richard, said he was impressed at the fact that Flores was able to get students to practice during Christmas break.
“He’s a kid, you know?” he said. “Just the fact that the kids have so much respect for him that they show up to practice during break is amazing.”
During practices, teammates said Flores would often give feedback and suggest creative ideas for how to defend and improve their playing style.
“He’s really similar to my current club coach right now,” said Levien.
A successful season for Burton High
For their first game of the season on Jan. 6, 2026, the Burton Pumas won 5-0 against the Academy. Then they beat Marshall High School 2-0. They beat Balboa High School 4-0. They lost to John O’Connell High school 0-1, but later placed higher than O’Connell in the division.
Before games, Flores would study the opposing team’s style so the Burton Pumas could strategize. One time at lunch, Levien said Flores had come up with a play to score against the Academy. On game day, he said, it worked.
For Flores, consistency was key to their winning season.
“You need to be in touch with the ball at least an hour or 30 minutes every day. So if they can practice at least an hour during breaks, that’s fine with me,” he said.
Even during the February teacher strike, Flores had the team practicing.
“We weren’t supposed to,” he said. “But I said, if they take a week off, they’re going to come back rusty.”
It paid off.
A full schedule for a unique kid
How did Flores balance school and coaching?
A normal school day for Flores involved waking up at 6 a.m. to plan what the team’s focus would be for the day. From 8:30 a.m. to 3:40 p.m., he was at school. From 3:40 to 5:30 p.m., he was coaching the Burton Pumas.
Then, he had 30 minutes to get from school to his club soccer practice, which goes from 6:30 to 8 p.m. After that, he went home to reflect on practice, do schoolwork, eat dinner and work on scholarships.
“Honestly, yeah, it was tiring,” he said. Flores balanced six classes, two of them advanced placement, with coaching and club soccer practices.
But he said praying and talking with his parents kept him grounded.
“Mario wasn’t paid a cent to do this,” said Levien. “We’re trying to get him a present, but he was never expecting any money. He’s a unique kid.”
The high school senior hopes to come back as an official coach for Burton next year. “I feel positive about how this season went and I’m ready for next year.”
Mario Flores deserves a big reward for what he’s doing! Bravo to Mario!! And kudos to the intrepid soccer team members who showed up during vacation and even in the rain!