Miguel Bocachica on his time guiding West Catholic basketball: ‘I love every bit of coaching’

Miguel Bocachica has always been a family man. He moved back to Philadelphia after going to college out of state and living in Atlanta for a while, to help support his mother, Idalia, and twin brother, Cesar, who has cerebral palsy.

Now, as he steps down from his position as West Catholic’s boys basketball coach to take a full-time coaching position in Atlanta, the decision is partially fueled by the fact that his 15-year-old son lives there.

Bocoachica is credited with shaping the Burrs’ program into a major success. He coached the team to multiple Catholic League playoff appearances and won a PIAA state championship twice in his seven seasons.

The last time West Catholic won a title before Bocachica stepped in? The 1953 City Championships.

“Coming to play for me at West Catholic has always been about preparing you to play at the next level, at the highest level you can possibly play,” Bocachica said. “I’m proud every time a kid commits to college. I’m proud every time a kid graduates from West Catholic. But I think for me, our first state championship, as the first one ever, we had to build this place up to get to that level, to a level that it’s never been at. That was the proudest moment.”

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Coaching was not his only priority, even though it’s his favorite.

Bocachica worked as a behavior specialist at River Rock Heights to support his true passion: coaching. He’s excited for his new full-time opportunity, which will alleviate the need for a second job.

“I love every bit of coaching,” Bocachica said. “The skill development part, the relationships you build, the film room, preparing for games, scouts. My college roommate saw it first. He was like, ‘Bro, you’re going to be a coach one day.’”

Bocachica was born in Puerto Rico. He attended Imhotep Charter, where he played under Andre Noble, and later coached alongside him. He said that throughout high school and college he lived and breathed basketball.

“That quote, ‘Ball is life?’ I literally got to live by that.

“Brother Andre always served as a father figure to me,” Bocachica added. “When I came back to the city, I started coaching AAU for three years, and he got me a job in the building. So Brother Andre really kickstarted everything for me.”

His son is a driving force for this move to Atlanta. He’s entering his sophomore year of high school, and Bocachica says he also plays basketball.

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Bocachica worries that, although he has been a father figure to the kids he has coached for the last seven years, like Brother Andre was for him, he hasn’t been there for his son as much.

“I’ve been able to guide and help a ton of kids throughout their journey,” Bocachica said. “He’s seen how I support other kids in their basketball journey. I love on him as best I can from a distance, when I’m far away.

“But it’s got to kind of hurt him from time to time to kind of see how I pour into other kids, and not necessarily always be able to pour into him in that same way. I just want to get down there. I’m fortunate enough to have a great basketball job, but I’ll also be close enough to pour into him as well.”

Bocachica says his biggest takeaways from his time at West Catholic were learning how to view a situation from his perspective, both as a coach and from the players’ parents’ perspectives, and how important patience is.

“We‘ve got to the level that we’ve gotten to by just being patient,” Bocachica said. “At the moment, it’s tough to be patient, but we work so hard and we work so consistently that — it’s cliché — but hard work really does pay off over time.”

As for returning to Philly to visit his family, old coaching staff, and players, Bocachica said, he’ll certainly be back.

“I’ll be watching closely,” Bocachica said. “I’ll definitely be back, without a doubt, at some point. I’m super thankful for my assistants, all the guys that showed up for me every day, all the guys that put up with me every day, and the players.”

He’s excited to have the opportunity to develop new coaching skills and expand his basketball knowledge at his new position.

“Being a head coach, sometimes you’re kind of seen as the guy who knows everything,” Bocachica said. “I’m kind of in a space where I just want to learn from people, and I want to continue to be a sponge and continue to grow.”