23 Oct On the soccer field…
On the soccer field at the South Campus two weeks before classes started, 15 future men from middle school held their first practice for the St. Stephen’s Academy Middle School Boys Soccer Team led by head coach John Breckenridge and assistant coach John Jackson. This is the latest expansion of the Archers Athletic Program where we seek to instill in our students the Christian values of perseverance, humility, integrity, and grace through athletic competition.
These athletes stoutly faced their much larger competition. The team has achieved a modest 2 wins and 13 goals on the season thus far but have shown plenty of pluck along the way. While these results are short of our pre-season goals, it is a reasonable showing for a very young team with no 8th grade players and a majority of 6th grade players. Their work this season has laid a solid foundation for the program.
Yet even more importantly, this season has been a tremendous opportunity for these boys to grow in their Christian character as is our intent with our athletic endeavors. These boys have felt the responsibility of carrying out an assignment on the field where the results impact not just them but their teammates and the challenges presented by fatigue and frustration. In so doing, they have learned more about what they are capable of and what is expected of them. We look forward to seeing this fruit manifest itself off the soccer field, as well.