Longtime local middle school basketball coach Jonathan Chavez died recently after it was discovered he had an inoperable brain tumor.

Fellow coach Carlos French said the two worked together for nearly 20 years, most recently at Carlos F. Vigil Middle School, where Chavez ran the eighth-grade boys and girls programs.

“He was a player’s coach,” French said of Chavez. “He was really good at building relationships with his players. He was a mentor. He was not only a coach, but also a mentor. He provided a lot of individual basketball training.”

Chavez, 41, worked for the New Mexico Department of Transportation, but his love was teaching and coaching basketball to youth not just in Española, but across the North.

“He taught a lot of kids in the Española Valley, but not just from there, but different schools,” French said. “He did individual basketball training.”

And he touched the lives of many local players, French said.

“He was a coach who built his foundation and principles on hard work, commitment, dedication and having fun,” he said. “He was just really dedicated to his athletes and providing opportunity through individual training and fundamentals.”

While Chavez primarily coached at the middle school level, he also coached at the elementary school, as well as being an assistant coach for the Española Valley High School Sundevils wherever he was needed.

On its social media pages, the Sundevils girls program posted, “He was a beloved member of our EVHS and CFVMS basketball family. We are thankful for the impact he made on our student-athletes on and off the court for these programs. He will be forever missed and in our hearts.”

Chavez was the type of coach and person who prided himself on making long-term connections with his players, French said.

“He was very supportive,” he said. “He would go to the high school games. Once he made a connection with his players, he followed them all the way through. He was five days a week a day in the gym if guys wanted to work on individual stuff.”

A 2002 Española Valley alum, Chavez had a place in his heart for his fellow Sundevils.

“He just had a special bond with a lot of these athletes,” French said. “It’s kind of devastating for a lot of these kids because of the lasting impression he left. He was big on accountability. He was the one that would hold someone accountable, but also the first one to tell you, ‘Hey, you did a good job.’ He was just a really good guy.”