Alvaro Baltodano

Alvaro Baltodano has been at Presbyterian School for 16 years and has been a part of the Physical Education Department teaching PK3-8th grade students and coaching middle school students in several sports including, volleyball, field hockey, boys and girls lacrosse, boys and girls soccer, baseball, and football. He currently serves as the school’s Director of Athletics. Outside of Presbyterian School, Alvaro has coached all ages of children from 3 years old through high school and coached soccer at the division-one club level. He has a combined total of nearly 20 years of coaching experience. Alvaro serves as a volunteer coach at the Houstonians Futbol Club and helps coach the 2009 boys soccer team. Alvaro was born in Managua, Nicaragua and lived there until he was twelve years old. He moved to Houston, TX to attend high school. Coach Baltodano graduated from the University of Houston in 2008 with a Bachelor of Science in Sports Administration and Business Administration. Alvaro married his high school sweetheart Nancy, who is currently a PK3 teacher at PS, and they have one son, Noah (PS ‘24), and two daughters, Natalia (PS ‘27 ) and Naomi (PS ‘32).

EDUCATION

Bachelor of Science, Sports Administration and Business, University of Houston

Q & A with ALVARO

What are your top five CliftonStrengths, and which ONE do you find yourself leaning into the most these days?
Restorative, Connectedness, Individualization, Learner, and Strategic are my top five strengths. In my day to day, I find myself leaning into my strategic strength the most. As Sun Tzu said, “Strategy without tactics is the slowest route to victory. Tactics without strategy is the noise before defeat.”

What’s your favorite part of the PS Mission ("Family, School and Church united in the education and support of each Child") and why?
I love the word “family” in our Mission because it’s a constant reminder that every family is different and unique. While every family has a different mindset, we work as a team for the better development of our students.

What was your best academic subject when you were in elementary school?
I’ve always loved math class and of course, physical education. I always preferred 10 math problems over writing two complete sentences. Funny thing is that now my job duties include a lot of writing!

What’s your go-to comfort food?
Tacos and Burgers. Mexican Street food truck tacos are the best paired with a Mexican ½ liter Coca Cola. And you can’t go wrong with a good burger.

What makes you laugh?
My own jokes. They are so bad that I have to laugh at them, since no one gets them the majority of the time. My kids also bring me a lot of laughter.

What brings you joy?
Seeing my kids grow, develop, and play sports brings me a lot of joy. Seeing them truly enjoy their sports, whether on the field or on the court is special. I love seeing them smile when they play or when they are having fun doing something they love.

What’s your happy place?
I like to be in my garage building or fixing things. Usually, I'm either doing carpentry or working on my trucks when time permits. I also like to cut my yard, which some people think is weird. My neighbors think I go out at night and talk to my grass because it looks so good when it’s in season.