On May 4 the news broke that Aledo was naming Ian Gonzales as the new boy’s soccer coach.
It came less than a week after the news that outgoing coach Derek Vierling, who was planning to retire, had taken the lead job at Arlington Baptist University.
While the program celebrates a coach who gave 25 years to the Bearcats, it is equally excited giving Gonzales an opportunity to lead the program into the future.
Gonzales will lead his first high school program, but has spent the last five years at Southlake Carroll, with the last four years being the associate head coach under Chris Padilla. The Dragons made the regional finals in 2025 under the leadership which earned him the Texas Association of Soccer Coaches Region 1 Assistant Coach of the Year.
Before that, he had also spent time as an assistant at Life University in Georgia and ran a youth club for eight years.
Gonzales was approached by Aledo principal Michael Martinak to apply for the open position and he was looking for a chance to run things his way and see if some of his ideas could work.
One of his main ideas is fostering a competitive environment in all the things players do.
“I am fully bought into the idea that competition drives success and forms strong bonds,” Gonzales said. “Some of the things I’ve been working on, I want to bring a points-based system to our program so that everything can have a value. Lifting in the weight room, competing in 3v3, 5v5, or 7v7, the winner gets points and the loser gets none. It should allow the cream to rise to the top. I call it the competitive cauldron.”
Athletic Director Brandy Belk is excited for Gonzales to lead the Bearcats program into future heights, referencing his high soccer knowledge and enthusiasm as well as his new ideas for the program.
“He wants to do a lot of social media, put five to 10 second video clips of practice or game to put on social media and help sell his program and get it out into the community.”
Gonzales has talked with the outgoing coach Vierling this week and had plans to meet the team. He was informed a great senior class is departing from this year’s team that made it to the regional finals, but was told the incoming senior class will be a good nucleus to build around.
On top of that, with Aledo going up to 6A, Gonzales has experience competing at that level from his time at Southlake Carroll and knows what it will take for a team to be successful at the highest level.
“The jump to 6A will be interesting for the program, but ultimately it is just a number,” Gonzales said. “We had similar numbers at Southlake, but we were able to compete with the big schools. It is all about how you prepare your team and program. With the preparation we’ve done, I want to bring that and more to Aledo.”
Gonzales sees himself as even-keeled in his demeanor, trying the balance his emotions so his team will follow.
“I’ve found a team really plays by their coach,” Gonzales said. “If I’m all over the place on the sideline and emotional, while that does have its advantages it could lead to a bit of chaos on the field. If I’m too calm or quiet, it could lead to a dull environment or like the motivation isn’t there. So I like to lead by example.”
Gonzales knows at Aledo the football program and its successes seem to get the most attention, but he is eager to have the boys’ soccer program more than hold its own in an athletic department that helped the Bearcats win the 2025 Lone Star Cup in 5A.
“I want my players [to know] that with preparation comes confidence,” Gonzales said. “As long as we are prepared off the field, we’ll come on the field completely confident. I always go by the 95-5 rule. In practices I am in 95% in control. In games that is flipped. The boys have all the control in the world and it’s their game. I want the boys to know when we step on the field, we are the best team in the entire state.”
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