After being part of 598 softball games at Pima College and helping Flowing Wells High School win state championships in 1999, 2000 and 2002, Gene Gonzales is retiring.
You wonder how he found the time and energy, but there’s no wondering about his impact as an assistant coach.
“I asked Gene to join me when I became the JV coach at Flowing Wells in 1995,” said Pima College softball coach Armando Quiroz. “We’ve been together 22 years. Gene is like a brother to me.”
Gonzales graduated from Sunnyside High School in 1971 and served 30 years in the Tucson Police Department, retiring as a sergeant after a remarkable career in which he worked as an undercover officer, in the gang unit, at the 911 center, as a patrolman and on the vice-squad and bomb unit.
Somehow Gonzales found time to coach softball at the highest level, helping PCC to two NJCAA World Series appearances and, of course, being part of Flowing Wells’ three state titles.
Some of the top softball players in Tucson history played on those teams: Desiree Williams, Ashley Monceaux, Yvette Alvarez and Rebekah Quiroz.
Gonzales and Armando Quiroz met while playing in the Tucson semi-pro baseball league in 1972 at Santa Rita Park. Their friendship rolls on.
“My grandkids are now playing softball and golf and tennis, and I want to see them play,” said Gonzales. “It’s been a great time with ’Mando. It was rewarding to watch the girls mature from year to year and become wives and mothers. It has been like another family for me, a very big family. I loved it.”
