Ron Walton has had to do a lot of learning while on the job. He has been put in positions that were not his strengths, but has found ways to absorb from others more knowledgeable.
After high school in Jasper, he first got the chance to volunteer coach football at Texas A&M University, where he attended college. Once out of school, he coached back at Jasper, and in 2016, began coaching soccer as an assistant.
“I didn't know anything about soccer,” Walton admitted. “The first two years, we had a kid that was in middle school whose dad helped me out a ton. He taught me how to coach it and what to look for and that helped me out. After two years, we had a J.V. program that I took over, and when I did that, that really helped me to understand the game of soccer.”
In the final years there, Walton said the head coach was asking him for help and was a source of information, as he had become more familiar with the sport.
The coach later was an assistant at Katy Paetow in football, where the school won a state championship. Skidmore-Tynan was the next stop in the Corpus Christi area, where he helped in football, basketball and track.
He has been at Port Arthur Memorial for the past two years coaching football and soccer.
“The head coach there played professional soccer, so he really knew what he was doing,” Walton said. “I learned a ton from that guy. When I got to Port Arthur, I realized I really didn't know that much about soccer. What I'm bringing to Livingston is what I learned from him at Port Arthur the last two years.”
Livingston’s new boys head soccer coach said he now feels confident in his ability to lead. He takes over a Lion soccer program that went 8-13-1 last year, but made the playoffs with a 4-4 mark in district.
“We are going to try to control the ball. I like to play from the back and gradually get it up there. I like to switch the field, and I like to attack. If I see a team that wants to play from the back, we are going to trap them and try to get easy transition scores. The more shots on goals you have, the better chance you have at making them.
“I have seen (Livingston’s) record and seen who they have played. I have seen that they have made playoff runs and made the playoffs. I know I can do better. (Port Arthur Memorial has) played some of the teams that they played previously. We would go to tournaments and see Hardin-Jefferson, Bridge City, Lumberton, East Chambers and LC-M. So, I know the teams that we are going to play, and I know some of the coaches. I know their styles of what they want to do. We have had good years district wise, and I think I can make it better. That is my goal, anyway.”
The coach said returning starters and newcomers alike will need to prove their worth.
“It is a blank slate, because I don't know the kids. I want them to prove to me where they belong. I think they have to earn their place. That is going to drive competition and bring out the best in the kids. It will make us better throughout the season and throughout the year. I don't like to just give somebody a varsity position if they haven't earned it in my eyes.
“Early on, we are going to do a lot of little scrimmages amongst ourselves, so I can see who can play and who can't, who can communicate and who can't, who can handle the ball and who can make good passes, who can shoot and who can lead.”
Walton will also coach football on the defensive line, something he also did at Memorial. On the day of this interview, he settled into his geometry classroom for the first time where he will teach. Plans have yet to be made, but the coach is also interested in trying to start a junior high soccer program.
