El Salvador trip grounds Houston kicker Jonathan Dimas

HOUSTON – Thirty years after Edwin Dimas immigrated to the United States, his son Jonathan Dimas visited his hometown of Molinero, El Salvador. The trip in May reminded the University of Houston kicker of his humble roots and his parents’ sacrifices.

To secure drinking water, Edwin’s family would walk to a neighbor’s well and pull it out with a bucket. The Dimas family would walk more than a mile to bathe in the Acahuapa River, where they also washed their clothes.

Edwin had never lived in a home with running water before moving to California in 1996. He grew up in a modest two-bedroom home that had electricity, but it wasn’t rare for the home to lose power for several days at a time, especially during the Central American country’s civil war. 

“It was a really humble moment to see where my parents came from,” Jonathan Dimas said. “I feel really grateful to represent them a lot.”

There are no known stats on the demographics, but it’s fair to say there are only few Salvadoran Americans playing at a Football Bowl Division school.  

Running with first team

After serving as a backup during his first two seasons at UH, the Houston Westfield High graduate appears in line to be the Cougars’ starting placekicker this season. He has been practicing with the first-team offense.

“He’s done a very nice job. He really had,” UH coach Willie Fritz said of Jonathan Dimas. “One of the good things about evaluating a kicker is it’s kind of cut and dried. They either put it between (the goal posts) or they don’t.

“He’s done a really nice job. (Zac) Yoakam’s done a good job. (Evan) Noel’s done a good job. But we have to start paring it down a little bit when you get closer to game day. Zac is definitely our kickoff guy. John is right now running with the ones.”

More from Our Esquina

Texas A&M kicker David Olano made own path from Futbol to Football

Fernando Mendoza, Jacob Rodriguez, KC Concepcion lead 2025 Latino All-America team

Houston AD Eddie Nuñez mentors during busy Final Four

The 5-foot-11, 185-pound Dimas was named the 6A All-State kicker in 2023 by the Texas Sports Writers’ Association. He sat behind Jack Martin as a true freshman in 2024 and then behind Ethan Sanchez as a sophomore last year. 

“I learned a lot from them,” Dimas said of Martin and Sanchez. “I really took a lot of their points and tried to use it for the better for me for this year.”

Dimas was the 2023 District 14-6A Special Teams Player of the Year as a senior at Westfield. Kohl’s Kicking Camps rated him as the eighth best kicker in the Class of 2023. He was also a five-star rated punter, according to Kohl’s.

Following brother’s lead

The second of Edwin and Marina Dimas’ two sons was inspired to be a kicker by his older brother Kevin, who is 10 years older than him. Jonathan followed his older brother to kicking camps as a young child, and he paid close attention.

Kevin Dimas often told Jonathan that he should aspire to be a better kicker than his older brother, and Jonathan smiled proudly while noting that he is indeed better than his brother was.

In 2024, Jonathan Dimas became the first person from his immediate family to attend a university. He does have a pair of cousins who graduated from UH, but he’s the first in his immediate family. 

“I’m very proud of him,” Edwin Dimas said. “There’s a lot of pride to see that one of your sons got somewhere where a lot of people want to go but few have the desire to keep going forward.

“I’ve always told my son, ‘Always go forward, never backward. Consistency is what will move you ahead so you don’t give up on your dreams. If you fall seven times, get up eight times, viejo.’” 

The elder Dimas has made a career out of working as a truck driver in the United States. He doesn’t have a college education, but he sacrificed and worked hard to learn English during his first two years in the United States.

Off season work!@CMKicking @Coach_Radke pic.twitter.com/2ppS3s79xN

— Jonathan Dimas (@Johnthekicker_) April 29, 2026

After working full-time during the day, he would take three different buses to get from North Hollywood to Evans Community Adult School in Los Angeles. He took night classes from 6 to 10 p.m. before getting back on public transit to return home. 

John Wayne, Clint Eastwood English lessons

When Edwin wasn’t working on his English skills in adult classes, he watched television reruns to learn the language. He learned to speak English by watching Lucille Ball’s “I Love Lucy” and the western series “The High Chaparral.”

He also learned English by watching John Wayne and Clint Eastwood movies. Edwin is a long way from his humble pueblo in El Salvador, yet he reminds his children often that they must never forget their Salvadoran roots. 

“I’ve always told (Jonathan) that one always has to be nice with everybody and never forget where you come from because the minute you forget where you come from, you’re lost in life,” Edwin says. 

Although he’s the only one in his family who wasn’t born in El Salvador, Jonathan is a proud Salvadoran.

“It feels amazing being able to represent my country and my parents’ country,” Jonathan Dimas said. “It’s really amazing to represent my family a lot. I kind of put my country up there, put them on the map. Nobody really knows where El Salvador is. It feels great to be part of El Salvador and be part of the Houston Cougars.”