DAILY PILOT HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL PLAYER OF THE WEEK:

The turning point in Juan Garces’ life came before high school and playing football.

Garces might have been a junior instead of a senior at Costa Mesa High this year.

Or maybe he might have been out of school altogether.

Garces almost flunked eighth grade and was heading down the wrong path. Guadalupe stepped in and laid it out for her younger brother.

“Even though you’re the funny kid,” she said, “you’ll always be known as the stupid kid.”

No one laughed.

The reason Garces was in Costa Mesa was because of his parents’ hard work and sacrifice. Maria and Eugenio immigrated to the United States from Mexico to give Garces and his two siblings a better life.

Those double jobs his parents held started to make sense to Garces.

Playing an organized sport for the first time helped Garces stay focused in school.

Football taught him to be disciplined his freshman year, on the field and in the classroom.