Former Taos coach Abreu carving out new path after mother's death

It was the end of a bittersweet Saturday for Art Abreu Jr.but he wasn’t done with it.

Not just yet.

As Abreu walked off of Taos’ Anaya Field — the place he had called home as head coach for nine years — he remembered there was one more thing he had to do. He raced over to the orange paw at midfieldknelt next to it and placed a kiss on it with his right hand. It was an ode to his dearly departed motherRoberta Abreuwho died in late August at the age of 68.

“That was where I took my last picture [as Taos coach] with my mom,” Abreu said. “It reminds me of the path I’ve taken — and by all meansit has been paved.”

Saturday was a meeting of what Abreu used to bewhat he is now and what he misses the most. He was the man who guided Taos to its lone state football title in 2018 and made the Tigers one of the top programs in Class 4A until his departure in the spring of 2024.

But on this dayhe was the offensive analyst for the top-seeded and defending state champion Bloomfield Bobcatsand he celebrated a 62-20 win over No. 4 Taos in the 4A semifinals.

Abreu has a chance to win his second state title with the Bobcats at 1 p.m. Saturday as they play Albuquerque St. Pius X at Nusenda Community Stadium.

Amid all of thatthere were the tugging heartstrings as he coached against the very players he helped develop — quarterback Evan Salazarreceivers Roman Quintana and Xavier Duranplus lineman Saul Fernandez among them. When some Tigers were injured during the gameAbreu admitted he was tornwanting to comfort them but knowing that was no longer his job.

“My responsibility is to support the team I’m at right now,” Abreu said. “But as a couple of them got injured and stuffthat played a heavy tune on my heartand my first instinct is to go to them.”

But those Tigers came to Abreu after the game. A group of seven players sought to hug him and converse as if he hadn’t left. They even took a picture to commemorate the moment.

“I wrote in a Facebook post that it doesn’t make a difference,” Abreu said. “I still love and appreciate the time I had with them. I think about them a lotevery day. I mean that. Every day.”

If anythingAbreu and Bloomfield head coach Mike Kovacs said the trip to Taos was a chance for closure. It didn’t happen when the teams played Sept. 26 because Abreu took that week off — it happened at the same time of his mother’s funeral.

“It was one of those things where he needed closure from the place that he loved so much,” Kovacs said.

“Taking pictures with the kids and visiting with them ... To meit seemed very much a day of closure and a time to move forward.”

But then there’s Roberta Abreuthe mother who loved her son — and all of her children — unconditionally. She battled cancer four years earlierbut it came back with a vengeance earlier this year.

That condition coincided with a rather tumultuous time for Abreu. He left Taos to take the offensive coordinator’s post at Albuquerque Eldoradobut Abreu said it was “an experience I could have gone without.”

Abreu found himself without a coaching job for the first time in 20 yearsbut that’s when Kovacs came calling. The relationship began — of all places — at Taos when the two teams battled for the 4A title in 2018an intense defensive affair won by the Tigers14-7.

Kovacs was well aware of the Abreu name — a respected one around the state — but the intense battle kindled a strong relationship. In factKovacs doesn’t even hesitate to call Abreu “brother.”

When he learned Abreu was availablehe offered him a job as an analyst. While Abreu taught at Albuquerque La Cuevahe spent his afternoons and evenings viewing film and helping to create game plansas well as breaking down players’ individual strengths and weaknesses.

“His knowledge of the game and just what he sees has been spectacular for us,” Kovacs said.

But the Abreu family suffered a life-changing event when Roberta died Aug. 30 in Denver while receiving cancer treatment. Kovacswho lost his dad last yeargave Abreu the space he needed to grieve.

Abreu said the grieving process has never really stoppedeven today. It just ebbs and flows.

“My eyes are welling up to talking to you,” Abreu said. “I’m still grievingbut I’m happy. I’m not depressed. I’m not sad or anything like that. I’m just so happy that I knew how much my mother loved memy childrenher grandkidsher daughterher son-in-lawdaughter-in-lawmy dad.”

Even nowher son wakes up in the mornings listening to voicemails she leftreminding her of the good times and the badas well as how every day is a new oneregardless of how yesterday went. It’s a comfort the younger Abreu says makes him still feel connected to her.

Perhaps her most powerful message she left her son was one about resiliency.

“Stopreset as many times as you need,” Abreu recited. “Just don’t quit. And nowit’s your turn. Go next week and go win.”

He and the Bobcats did just over the weekendeven if it was in the place he used to call home. This week offers him another chance to take on the next obstacle.

Whether Bloomfield perseveres doesn’t really matter — it’s the challenge that does.