For most high school athletes, when they graduate that’s often the last time they’ll participate in their chosen sport. For some, the drive to give back to your school and the younger generation can lead to coaching. This was the case for the new head wrestling coach, Victoria Cabrera.
Cabrera, better known as “Tori”, graduated from Alisal in 2018 and wrestled all four years. She made it to CCS all 4 years but only placed her last 3 years. In her sophomore and junior years, she placed 4th, and in her senior year, she placed first. “I loved the satisfaction that came with completing something that challenged me so significantly,” she said. It is also such a vulnerable sport, you are alone competing very intensely against one other person and there is nothing or no one to hide behind. I think that forces you to grow as an athlete and as a person since you are often put in a situation where you must acknowledge your weaknesses, mentally and physically.”
After Cabrera graduated in 2018, she entered UCLA and wrestled there for 2 years. She graduated from UCLA with a Bachelor of Science in biology and a minor in Chicanx Studies. “As an athlete, coaching never came into mind,” she said. “I did not anticipate that I would return to coach. Once I was in college and would hear about updates regarding the team, I realized that I was a little sad to no longer be directly involved. I felt left out a little bit. I think that’s when I decided I wanted to coach. I wanted to be involved with the team and the very close Alisal wrestling community.”
Once she came home to Salinas, she worked as a community health advocate for Clinica de Salud del Valle, which she said involved research and outreach for the clinics here [Salinas].
Currently, she is a manager at a nonprofit called Cancer Patients Alliance. “I specifically work with clients, patients, and providers who emphasize their work and focus their work on mental health and addiction.”
She became an assistant coach at Alisal last year after reaching out to one of her coaches, who was a coach at the time. “I heard that the girls’ team was small but strong, and I wanted to help out in any way I could,” she said. “I officially joined as an assistant coach under Miguel Rodriguez the following season and learned so much from him and his coaching style.”
She said she enjoyed learning from him and the other coaches as well as the wrestlers. “It was a new side of wrestling I hadn’t experienced yet and I was very nervous about teaching and correcting, but with time I became a little more comfortable with the role.”
Cabrera initially didn’t apply to be head coach because she was saddened by Rodriguez being let go. “I did not see myself as someone who could fill his shoes,” Cabrera said. “After there was no news of a new head coach, I decided to apply because I wanted to ensure that I would be on board for the next season and I didn’t want the team to have a completely new coaching staff.”
Cabrera never anticipated being head coach due to intimidation and responsibility. “I am also a bit younger than most of the head coaches I know, so I was nervous about how that would factor into my authority as a head coach,” she said. Cabrera has clarified that these are no longer issues.
“How does it feel being head coach” Is what she heard from Athletic Director Jose Gil on graduation day 2024. “I was really intimidated by it because, those coaches before me I have immense respect for – JJ, Villalobos, Espinoza, Rodriguez – like those are people that I’ve always looked up to and helped me a lot during my wrestling journey so it’s intimidating to be in a position as so many other great people cause then there is a higher standard to look up to and live up to,” Cabrera said, “but I was really excited by the new opportunity.”
Being selected as the head coach wasn’t easy to digest. “I think the fact that I’m the first female head coach comes with more pressure than anything, but I am very grateful to be in this position.” But her both family and wrestling family guided her through it and were very supportive. “When I was chosen as head coach I received a lot of mixed emotions, which I anticipated but was still a bit hard to experience. My family was, as always, super supportive and encouraging. My sister was most excited for me because she attends Alisal, but unfortunately, this was still not enough to convince her to join the team. My assistant coaches and athletes were also very supportive, as was my former coach/previous head Coach Rodriguez, and that helped me feel more confident about this new role,” Cabrera said. The news truly hit her when she saw her cousin walking down the hall and he asked “How does it feel to make history?”
Cabrera’s first year as head coach has come with a lot of growing pains and stress, she said, but it has also come with so much joy, growth, and excitement. She hopes to have wrestling as an opportunity for students to grow and learn and to leave the mat grateful to have walked on it. “I am very grateful to be in a position that allows me to grow as a leader and as a person,” Cabrera said. “I am even more thankful to have a great group of athletes, coaches, and mentors to support me through it. I love my team.”
Freshman Irving Juarez said, “I feel like she’s doing great and I really like her as a coach, she’s patient with the wrestlers and she helps me with things and stays longer if I need more help.”
