Natalie Flores named new girls basketball coach at Socorro High School

Basketball has been Natalie Flores' passion for her entire life.

On Monday, Flores was named the head girls basketball coach at Socorro High School where she replaces Mario Vela. Socorro competes in District 1-6A.

"I love teaching the game of basketball and I'm excited about being here at Socorro," said Flores, a 2006 Burges graduate. "There is a good foundation here and we're gonna get right to work. Hard work will be something that defines us. I want to help Socorro get back to being a strong program."

Flores was most recently at Pebble Hills, where she was an assistant coach for the successful Spartans program. She helped the Spartans win a bi-district championship in the Class 6A playoffs this past season.

"We want to get to know coach Flores and get to work and continue to build our program," junior Trinity Torres said. "We're excited to move forward. Coach Vela helped us a great deal and we look to forward to building a strong relationship with coach Flores."

Added junior Hazel Pearson: "We're going to work hard to continue to get better and we're going to work hard to be the best team we can be next season."

More: Golf teams win district championships

Felix F. Chavez may be reached at 915-546-6167; fchavez@elpasotimes.com; @Fchavezeptimes on Twitter.

This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: Socorro names Natalie Flores as new girls basketball coach