This article is part of Giving Back, our stories about Texans finding creative ways to uplift our state.
The most prized piece of art in my house is a pencil-on-paper drawing of an oblong soccer ball underneath the message “BEST COCH EVER.”
The artist is one of the seven-year-olds I’ve coached as a volunteer with the public youth-soccer league in Georgetown, where I live, thirty miles north of Austin. Thank-you notes from other kids I’ve “coched” cover my fridge door. It’s one of the first things I see every morning and something I take special note of after a hard day. There are purchased works of art on my walls I’d leave behind in a fire if it meant saving the kids’ small tokens of gratitude.
But really, I am at least as grateful. That’s exactly what volunteering feels like. You receive more than what you put into it, and what you receive is substantial and priceless: in addition to simply feeling good about giving your time and energy to others, you become part of the community you’re serving. You learn about other people’s lives, but you also learn a lot about yourself, and it gives you something to think about that isn’t work.
Advertisement
Yet according to data kept by Ameri-Corps, Texas has seen a recent sharp decline in the share of residents who volunteer through an organization. In 2017, 28.4 percent of Texans volunteered, but in 2021, the latest year for which data is available, only 21.3 percent did, which puts us at thirty-ninth in the country. (Utah leads the nation with 40.7 percent.)
Perhaps it was the pandemic or the influx of newcomers who need time to settle in, or the stress of the uneven economy. I’ll say that the most cited obstacles to volunteering are easily overcome: figuring out what you have to offer (in my case twelve years of playing organized soccer in my youth) and showing up the first time. Don’t overthink it. Do it for your neighbors—and for yourself.
This article originally appeared in the December 2023 issue of Texas Monthly with the headline “If Nothing Else, Coach.” Subscribe today.
Nathan Eovaldi pitched seven scoreless innings, Dustin Harris had a homer and two-run double in his second MLB game, and the defending champion Texas Rangers closed out their season with an 8-0 victory over the Los Angeles Angels on Sunday.
Nathaniel Lowe also homered, and Josh Smith drove in two runs for the Rangers, who were eliminated from postseason contention on Sept. 20. Texas finished the season with its first sweep of a three-game series since late August against the Chicago White Sox.
The Rangers finished 78-84, one season after going 90-72 and charging through the postseason on the way to their first World Series title in franchise history.
Angels rookie starter Jack Kochanowicz (2-6) gave up three runs on six hits over seven innings in the 11th start of his career after making his big league debut July 11. The Angels finished with the most losses in franchise history at 63-99 after going 73-89 last season.
Advertisement
Texas scored first when Lowe hit a leadoff double to center in the fourth and Jonah Heim knocked him in one batter later with a single to left.
Harris delivered a two-run double in the seventh inning to right field on his first career hit for a 3-0 lead.
The Angels nearly broke through in the seventh, but Matt Thaiss was thrown out at home by Rangers left fielder Wyatt Langford. Thaiss was trying to score from second on a single by Michael Stefanic.
In the eighth inning, Langford led off with a single before Lowe homered to right, his 16th of the season, for a 5-0 advantage. Lowe had five hits and five RBIs over the last two games of the season.
Harris’ first career home run, in the ninth inning off Roansy Contreras, just cleared the wall in right field. Smith added a two-run double later in the inning off Contreras.
Advertisement
Eovaldi (12-8) gave up four hits over seven innings, with a walk and five strikeouts. Jose Leclerc pitched a scoreless eighth inning with two strikeouts, and David Robertson handled the ninth inning, closing out the 12th shutout of the season for Texas.
The Angels drew a crowd of 35,145 for the season finale and finished the season at 2,577,597, slightly down from their total attendance of 2,640,575 in 2023.
UP NEXT
Rangers: Spring training opener, Feb. 21 vs. Royals at Surprise, Arizona.
Angels: Spring training opener, Feb. 22 vs. Mariners at Tempe, Arizona.
A Texas state trooper died Saturday, more than a week after he was struck by a vehicle, authorities said.
“Today is a very somber day, as our hearts weigh heavy in reporting the tragic death of Texas Highway Patrol Trooper Kevin Ramirez Vasquez,” a regional director said in a statement shared by the Texas Department of Public Safety Officers Association.
Ramirez Vasquez, 25, was investigating a crash along State Highway 302 about 9 a.m. September 17 when he was struck by a vehicle. He was taken to Medical Center Hospital in Odessa then airlifted to Covenant Medical Center in Lubbock.
Advertisement
He died Saturday with his family by his side, according to the statement
Breaking News
Get the latest breaking news from North Texas and beyond.
Ramirez Vasquez was a U.S. Army veteran and serving in the U.S. National Guard. He joined DPS last year and was stationed in Odessa.
“There are no words to ease the loss of one of our brothers in uniform,” DPS Director Steven McCraw said in a news release. “Texas Highway Patrol Trooper Kevin Alexis Ramirez Vasquez served this state honorably to his very last breath. His commitment to keeping the roads safe, protecting the people of Texas and the sacrifice he made will never be forgotten.”
Advertisement
Ramirez Vasquez is survived by his parents and three siblings.
DPS Troopers Foundation is collecting donations through HelpAHero.com.
Funeral arrangements are pending.
‘Excruciating:’ Ex-Dallas cop Amber Guyger now eligible for parole in Botham Jean’s murder
Driver faces charges in fatal Pleasant Grove crash, Dallas police say
ANAHEIM — Few Texas Rangers prospects in recent memory arrived with higher expectations than Wyatt Langford.
The Rangers 2023 No. 4 overall pick hasn’t disappointed, especially in the second half of the season. And most notably, he has steadily progressed into the type of hitter the organization envisioned during a torrid final month of the season.
In fact, few Rangers have put together a better month than the 22-year-old Langford.
He added to it again Saturday in the Rangers’ 9-8 comeback win over the Los Angeles Angels at Angels Stadium. He hit his fourth homer in the past six games. Nine of his 16 homers have come in his past 30 games.
Advertisement
Langford is the first Rangers player with 22 or more runs, seven or more home runs, 19 or more RBI, and six or more stolen bases in a month.
Only four MLB rookies had previously posted similar totals in a single month, including Nomar Garciaparra (August 1997), Mike Trout (July and August 2012), Atlanta’s Ronald Acuna Jr. (August 2018), and Arizona’s Corbin Carroll (June 2023).
After falling behind 7-1 in the third, the Rangers added runs in the fourth and sixth before scoring twice in the eighth and four in the ninth to finish their largest comeback win of the season. The previous largest rally was five runs in their home finale on Sunday.
Sep 28, 2024; Anaheim, California, USA; Texas Rangers starting pitcher Andrew Heaney (44) pitches during the first inning against the Los Angeles Angels at Angel Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kiyoshi Mio-Imagn Images / Kiyoshi Mio-Imagn Images
It was arguably Andrew Heaney’s worst start of the season, but he’ll be celebrating anyway. Heaney, the Rangers most durable starting pitcher with a team and career-high 31 starts in 2024, was charged with a season-high seven runs on a career-tying high 10 hits in four innings and dropped to 5-15 with the loss. Heaney, 33, however, earned a $1.5 million incentive bonus by reaching 160 innings pitched. He started the game with 156.
Advertisement
Sep 27, 2024; Anaheim, California, USA; Texas Rangers right fielder Adolis Garcia (53) is greeted by third base coach Tony Beasley (27) after hitting a solo home run against the Los Angeles Angels. during the first inning at Angel Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images / Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images
Adolis García, who hit his 25th home run in Friday’s win, left Saturday’s game after running out a groundout in the sixth inning. García came up limping on his left knee, which has been bothering him of late.
Garcia is the seventh player in Rangers history with four or more 25-homer seasons. He’s the fourth Rangers player with 25 or more homers in at least four consecutive seasons. He joins Juan Gonzalez (5, 1995-99), Rafael Palmeiro (5, 1999-2003), and Mark Teixeira (4, 2003-06). García is
one of five 5 American League players with 25 or more homers in the past four seasons, joining Houston’s Yordan Alvarez, Boston’s Rafael Devers, Toronto’s Vladimir Guerrero Jr., and the New Yor Yankees’s Aaron Judge.
Sep 17, 2024; Arlington, Texas, USA; Texas Rangers catcher Jonah Heim (left) talks with starting pitcher Nathan Eovaldi (right) during the first inning against the Toronto Blue Jays at Globe Life Field. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images / Jerome Miron-Imagn Images
Rangers right-hander Nathan Eovaldi (11-8, 3.96) faces Angels right-hander Jack Kochanowicz (2-5, 4.01) in the season finale at 2:07 p.m. Sunday.