Mario Luna “Torta Power” Almost Quit Football in Mexico | Coach Gil Story

Most people who know me now know me as Mario Luna, or Torta Power. They see me playing offensive line at Orange Lutheran, posting football clips, going to camps and calling my pancake blocks Tortas.

But football started way before all of that. I started in Mexico with the Rosarito Rangers in Baja California, and the funny part is I begged my parents to let me play. Then once they finally said yes, I wanted to quit almost immediately.

I'm serious. I don't think I even made it through two practices before I was telling my dad I didn't want to do this anymore.

How I Got Into Football in Rosarito

My family wasn't really a football family. Soccer made sense to us. Baseball made sense. Boxing definitely made sense. American football was different.

My mom didn't like the idea at all. Her reaction was basically, “Pobrecito mi niño, me lo van a lastimar.” Which, if you have a Mexican mom, you already know exactly how that conversation went.

I kept bothering my parents about it until my dad finally signed me up with the Rosarito Rangers. They played in OEFA Baja California, and you can also find football from the area through Baja Football.

My dad pretty much did the signup behind my mom's back. I was happy. I'm not sure how happy he was later when she found out.

Then I went to practice and found out football wasn't as fun when you actually had to practice.

Two Practices and I Was Ready to Quit

That first practice hurt. My legs were sore and I was tired, but the worst part was my feet. They were killing me.

I had brand-new football cleats, so I didn't think the cleats could be the problem. In my head, new meant better. I figured maybe this was just what football felt like.

By the end of practice I was telling my dad, “I don't want to play football anymore.”

The next day I went back anyway, and somehow my feet hurt even worse. My dad could tell I wasn't just being lazy or complaining because practice was hard. Something really wasn't right.

That's when he talked to Gutz Rodriguez, Coach Gil.

Coach Gil actually looked at my feet and listened to what I was saying. He didn't immediately tell me to stop complaining or be tougher. I still remember him telling me:

“Don't quit, Mario. This is step by step, one day at a time. We'll see you tomorrow.”

I liked everything he said except the “we'll see you tomorrow” part. I was hoping maybe everybody would agree I needed a week off.

Nope.

The Three Bags of Ice From OXXO

At the time we were living around La Misión in Valle de Ensenada, so we had about an hour drive home from practice. On the way my dad stopped at OXXO.

He came back to the car carrying three bags of ice.

I'm looking at all that ice thinking, damn, are we having a carne asada or what? Maybe he was buying sodas. Maybe some beers. I didn't really care. I just knew my feet hurt and I wanted to go home.

We finally got home and my dad started filling the bathtub. Then he started dumping the ice into it.

That's when I realized the ice wasn't for the drinks.

It was for me.

He called me upstairs and I'm looking at this bathtub full of freezing water like this man really thinks I'm a penguin.

I put my foot in and pulled it right back out. No way, José.

I was mad. I was yelling. I probably cried too. My dad still got me in there. We did the cold water, then warmer water, then back again.

And my mom was watching all of this. Remember, this is the same guy who had already signed me up for football without really getting her approval. Now she's watching him put her son into a tub full of ice. Her face was basically saying, what are you doing to my niño?

A few hours later I got up for dinner and I could tell I wasn't hurting as much. My dad asked how I felt and I told him, “The same.”

That was a lie. I was still mad at him and I wasn't about to let him know his crazy ice bathtub actually helped.

The next morning I couldn't fake it anymore. I told him, “Thanks, papi. It doesn't hurt that much anymore.”

Of course he couldn't just accept the thank you like a normal person.

“Ya ves, cabrón.”

Coach Gil Figured Out What Was Really Wrong

When I went back to practice, Coach Gil called me over. He had a bag with him and pulled out a pair of his son's old football cleats.

They weren't new. They weren't some special expensive pair. They were used, already broken in and a little bigger than the cleats I had been wearing.

He told me to try them.

So I did the whole practice in those cleats, and when practice was over my feet didn't hurt like before.

That was it. The brand-new cleats I had been wearing just weren't right for my feet.

I had been ready to quit football because I thought football was making my feet hurt. The real problem was a pair of shoes.

That's one of the reasons I still remember Coach Gil doing that. He could've just told me to stop complaining. Instead, he paid attention and tried something.

And it worked.

Before Torta Power, Coach Gil Called Me IHOP

There's another part of this story that makes me laugh now.

Before anybody called me Torta Power, Coach Gil used to call me IHOP.

Seriously. IHOP.

I guess pancake jokes were already following me before I even knew what a pancake block was.

Years later, when I started understanding offensive line better, everybody called a good knockdown block a pancake. Since I'm Mexican, I started thinking, why am I making pancakes?

I'm making Tortas.

That's basically how the Torta part started. You can read the longer version here: What Is Torta Power?

So yeah, I was IHOP before I was Torta Power. Coach Gil was early.

The Cleats I Wear Now

Because of what happened when I was younger, I'm probably more picky about football cleats than people realize. I learned pretty early that having a brand-new pair doesn't mean they're the right pair for your feet.

People ask me what I wear now, so I wanted to put them here. One of the models I wear is the Nike Alpha Menace Strong Men's Football Cleats.

I have them in different colors. The two below are the white and University Red pair and the black and Metallic Silver pair.

Nike Alpha Menace Strong Men's Football Cleats

White / University Red / Dark Smoke Grey / Black

This is one of the colorways I wear. Amazon prices and sizes change, so check the link for what's available right now.

Check Current Price on Amazon

See the White & Red Pair on Amazon →

Nike Alpha Menace Strong Men's Football Cleats

Black / Metallic Silver / White

This is the black colorway I wear. Check Amazon for the current sizes, price and availability.

Check Current Price on Amazon

See the Black Pair on Amazon →

One thing I do want to say about cleats is don't buy a pair only because I wear them or because another football player wears them. What fits my feet might feel terrible on yours. I learned that lesson the hard way.

Affiliate disclosure: As an Amazon Associate, I may earn from qualifying purchases made through eligible links on this page, at no additional cost to you. Prices, sizes and availability can change.

I Still Think About Those Used Cleats

A lot has happened since those practices in Rosarito. I kept playing in Baja California, later came to the United States and eventually got the chance to play varsity offensive line at Orange Lutheran.

If you want to read some of that part, I wrote about coming to Orange Lutheran, my freshman varsity season, and being featured by the LA Times.

But when I think about how football started for me, I don't think about any of that first.

I think about Rosarito. I think about my dad walking out of OXXO with three bags of ice. I think about my mom looking at him like he had lost his mind. And I think about Coach Gil handing me his son's old cleats because he noticed something wasn't right.

That pair of used cleats probably didn't look important to anybody else. To me they were.

I've told my family that one day I'd like to give football cleats to kids in Mexico in Coach Gil's honor. Nothing complicated. Just helping some kids who want to play but maybe don't have the right equipment.

Because there could be another kid somewhere in Baja with sore feet telling his dad he wants to quit, when all he really needs is somebody to pay attention and maybe find him a better pair of cleats.

Coach Gil told me, “Step by step, one day at a time.”

I didn't understand why that mattered back then. I just knew he expected me at practice the next day.

And I went back.

About Mario Luna “Torta Power”

Mario Luna “Torta Power” is a Class of 2029 offensive lineman at Orange Lutheran High School. He started playing American football in Baja California, Mexico with the Rosarito Rangers before continuing to play in the United States.

The Torta Power nickname comes from Mario's version of the offensive line pancake block. Instead of calling them pancakes, he calls them Tortas.