Photo by Army National Guard
The 2nd Annual MaxPreps Soccer Tour of Champions presented by the Army National Guard visited
Tucson High Magnet School (Tucson, Ariz.) on April 4 to celebrate their championship soccer team.
Tucson High Magnet applied the finishing touches against Copper Canyon 3-0 to win the Division II State Championship for its first state title. The Badgers finished No. 32 nationally for the 2014 season out of more than 14,000 soccer teams by MaxPreps.
When MaxPreps and the Arizona Army National Guard arrived at the high school, we were met by the athletic director Bobby DeBerry. He walked us through the campus to the gymnasium, where the presentation would soon take place. Because of the size of the school, two presentations were scheduled — one for 12:30 p.m. and the second for 2 p.m. Before the presentation, Staff Sergeant Brent Nelson of the Arizona Army National Guard started handing out pens and stickers to the students and t-shirts and hats to the members of the soccer team.
The presentation began with a pep rally — one of only four throughout the year. The students hosting the pep rally organized several competitions including routines by the dance team and cheer team. Then they introduced the school's state championship teams with the boys soccer team being announced last.
Tim Bolen spoke on behalf of MaxPreps and explained the Tour of Champions as well as the team's rank. He then introduced SSG Nelson to present the Army National Guard national ranking trophy. SSG Nelson gave a heartfelt speech in which he described what teamwork represents and some of the traits that are common in a winning team. He then went on to talk about the award and what it represents — dedication, perseverance, commitment to a cause and handed the Minuteman trophy over to coach Ismael Arce. Arce quietly spoke of the amazing teamwork that made the state championship possible.
He went on to to say, "Although we had four amazing players who did amazing things to produce amazing results, it still took the entire team to win the title. One player was never recognized more than another — it was true teamwork."
After his speech, coach Arce handed the prestigious award to the team and said, "this is yours." The team celebrated as they stood for photos and gazed at the Minuteman award. The students were rumbling in the stands as they cheered on the newest of state champions.
Congratulations to the Tucson High Magnet School Badgers on a great season and championship title! Hope to see you again next year on the Tour of Champions!
