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Memorial service held for Arlington ISD soccer coach
The Sam Houston High School soccer coach and father of three died last Sunday. Joey Rodriguez was fully vaccinated but vulnerable due to an immune system condition.
ARLINGTON, Texas - Hundreds gathered over the weekend to celebrate the life of an Arlington ISD soccer coach who died after a lengthy battle with COVID-19.
The Sam Houston High School soccer coach and father of three died last Sunday. Joey Rodriguez was fully vaccinated but vulnerable due to an immune system condition.
Colleagues, friends, current and former players showed up to support the Rodriguez family Saturday afternoon at the Arlington Performing Arts Center.
When Rodriguez was hospitalized, his team offered support from outside the hospital windows.
"My husband was a fighter. Not just in his illness but just in life," said Lena Rodriguez, wife.
Rodriguez spent 12 years in Arlington, shaping not only the soccer program there but his students’ lives. People said Rodriguez poured his heart and soul into the kids he coached for years, planting seeds in countless young players.
"He was a hard working kid from a hardworking family," said Juan Carlos Rodriguez, cousin.
Arlington ISD Athletic Director Eric White says students strived to play for Rodriguez.
"He was also a kid magnet. The more kids you have around you the more you can influence and the more lives you can touch," White said.
Sam Houston H.S. made two state runs in the decade-plus Rodriguez was at the school. Nate Kopetsky was on the team back in 2017.
"It’s unmatched what he has done for me, my family, and everyone in the community," Kopetsky said.
Rodriguez’s wife reminded the room even with her husband gone, there are lessons she hopes will live on.
"He would want you to be patient. Show empathy and focus on what you can do from others. and don’t be self-serving. He was not self-serving," she said.
The Rodriguez family and Arlington ISD are creating scholarships in his honor at Sam Houston H.S. One is an athletic scholarship, another an academic scholarship and the third a fine arts scholarship.
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