The beginning of the 2018-19 school year was not easy for the Cole Middle School community. As many of you know, a student was severely injured, and the effects were felt by students, staff, and families alike. But in spite of this adversity, a beautiful story arose from one special group that showed incredible courage and resilience. They are the two-time consecutive championship winning Cole Middle School soccer team!
We sat down with Cole 8th graders Moses, Angel, and Luis, along with their soccer coach and Director of Curriculum and Instruction at Cole MS, Sevve Stember, to hear their story. You can scroll to the bottom for some great audio clips from Sevve and his champs, but read on for the heartwarming story and pictures.
August and September were especially tough for the team. They were feeling down about their best friend’s injury, and on top of that, the Cole MS turf field was held up in city licensing issues, meaning they had to play in Curtis Park. It especially seemed as if they just couldn’t catch a break after their teammate Josefat broke his arm during the very first game of the season.
But the team didn’t let these obstacles get in the way of what turned out to be a season for the books, largely because they dedicated it to their good friend, and rallied around that intention until the very end.
Having the opportunity to play helped the students persevere through adversity. Luis shared that he loves soccer because he can lay out all of this emotions on the field and play with his friends, and Angel said that while the beginning of the season was hard, getting through all of it and winning the championships gave him more confidence in himself.
Moses shared that soccer helped him keep his grades up- “because if I didn’t have passing grades, then I wouldn’t be able to play.” Sevve elaborated on Moses’ dedication, citing the day when Moses came into school with half of his face numb after dental work. Under past circumstances, Moses likely would have opted to stay home. But the risk of not playing soccer was too high, and he braved the rest of the school day so that he could get out there on the field with his team.
Moses told us how the team is like family to him, and all the boys agreed that the season really brought them closer. From quality time on the bus to legendary bicycle kicks on the field, the team came together in an unprecedented and inspiring way. Sevve recounted for us how the team really “accepted each other, cared about each other, loved each other… they rallied together as a team.” And the results showed! This was the second year in a row that the Dragons played with all of their heart and scorched the competition. At the end of the season, when the turf field finally opened, almost 100 people came out to cheer on the team in an overwhelming show of support.
Next year, the soccer champions will move on to high school, and we asked them what advice they’d share with a new Dragon. Luis left us with some great advice: “Be good in school, stay motivated, and do your best.” Based on the season the boys have had, we’d say the team lives by this advice every day! Go Dragons!
Click the play button to listen to the podcast!
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