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What a great day for parents, family, former teachers and friends.

Dozens of athletes and parents from Southern Arizona signed their names to letters of intent to play their sport at the next level. Above all, it really is a special day for parents.

All those days wondering how they will get their children to practice or what they would sacrifice so their child could buy a new bat or a new pair shoes finally paid off. In many ways, it’s the first official act these young men and women will do as adults and it’s one of the first signs of parents letting their children go.

I, for one, had the pleasure of watching one of my former students sign his name to play football at Dixie State. Watching a student succeed, as Robert Metz has, is one of the most rewarding experiences an educator can have.

Society likes to call them all “products” but we know each and every one of them is different and each one grew from their mistakes and from their successes. There are no “molds” or formulas. If there was a mold, parents, coaches and educators would have used it by now.

We can only lead them by example and then let them decide. Jaide Stepter is one of those special examples of a championship athlete who is also a champion in the classroom and a champion of her strong religious and family beliefs.

Her track coach Michelle Gerard informed the crowd gathered at Canyon del Oro that Jaide had acquired a grade point average of about 4.5. It is an important lesson for young men and women everywhere.

If a college coach has to choose between two athletes, he or she will almost always go with the grades. Bad character or a bad reputation can make a difference and nullify high grades but that would never, ever be the case with Jaide.

“First, above all, all of my accomplishments would not be possible without God,” Jaide explained. “I prayed and put my trust in Him and I am confident that he helped me make the right choice.”

Jaide wants to study cinematography so what better choice could she have than USC? Being a champion hurdler and sprinter also helped narrow her ultimate choice between Columbia and USC to the sunny skies of California.

“I also want to thank my parents because everything I have done is because of them and all of my friends and the friends that work with me at the Nike Store. I am confident that they all believed in me and I have made the right choice.

Jaide’s mom is none other than former Olympic and NCAA champion hurdler LaTanya Sheffield. Sheffield informed me before the ceremony of Jaide’s choice and of her own desire to coach at the college level.

Alexis Aguirre is a girl I have known since she was much younger. Although she has not grown much in size, she has obviously grown into a good softball player and a young woman ready to take the next step in her game.

Having been a standout at Safford, Alexis moved back to Tucson and will play for CDO this spring before moving on to Yavapai where she will study to be a surgical nurse.

Swimming champion Maggie McCord will follow former Salpointe and Arizona swim coach Augie Busch to Houston next fall. Maggie will continue to swim and will compete in nationals this March. She says it will extra special to swim for Busch and to help him succeed at Houston.

These are just a few of the many stories from Canyon del Oro but the main theme of family and personal growth was echoed throughout the day.

Canyon del Oro
Blake Martinez, Football, Stanford
Jaide Stepter, Track, USC
Josh Brown, Football, Pima
Robert Metz, Football, Dixie State
Megan Baker, Soccer, Miami
Maggie McCord, Swim, Houston
Allie Klasen, Softball, Ashford
Alexis Aguirre, Softball, Yavapai
Tyler Sayne, Volleyball, Newbury
Sean Carroll, Baseball, Pima
CJ Weinhoff, Baseball, Presentation College
Lucas Rischar, Cross Country, Paradise Valley

________

I received a note that, with the inclusion of the five listed below, 16 former football players from Buena will be playing at the college level. What a great accomplishment for the Colt program.

Buena
Alex Brown, Football, Mesa
Anthony Norman, Football, Mesa
JJ Talbot, Football, Pima
Lawrence Boutte, Football, Pima
Quentin Mendez, Football, Wayland Baptist

________

14 young men and women took part in Salpointe’s ceremony Wednesday afternoon. Salpointe’s new principal, Sister Helen, started things off by reminding the athletes, “Don’t forget us when you are famous and we come to a game and ask for tickets.”

Six baseball players made up most of the class but six sports were represented and almost all of them took the time to thank their strength and conditioning coach, Carla Garrett.

Davierre Cummins started the ceremony off by thanking his mom and his stepfather for being there for him. It was a great display of kids thanking their family and friends from there on as each athlete had the opportunity to speak to the gathered audience.

Tennis standout Matt Dunn decided to stay home and play for Arizona and Hunter Miller will play baseball for Grand Canyon but all the other athletes decided to leave Arizona to pursue their education.

Softball star Ashley Curtis is the lone returning starter for Salpointe and she will be on her way to Northwest University. Cousins Courtney and Lauren Amos will play tennis at Yale and Middlebury as an example of athletics mixed with education.

Salpointe
Nic Carter, Golf, Regis
Lauren Amos, Tennis, Middlebury
Matt Dunn, Tennis, University of Arizona
Kevin Brice, Baseball, Pomona
Tyler Mattingly, Swimming, Columbia
Ashley Curtis, Softball, Northwest
Courtney Amos, Tennis, Yale
Garrett Barraza, Football, Colorado-Pueblo
Hunter Miller, Baseball, Grand Canyon
Tyler Kimbrough, Baseball, Northern Colorado
Davierre Cummins, Football, South Dakota State
Forest Chapman, Baseball, Cal State Stanislaus
Ray Eastman, Baseball, Belmont
Ryan Penaflor, Baseball, Grinnell

________

Soccer standout Micah Wenzel visited Northwest during one of the area’s worst snow storms. “The coach offered me a scholarship on the spot,” explained Micah.

“I’ve never played indoors but it all worked out. It worked out the way it was supposed to,” she added.

Ironwood Ridge will be sending two of her soccer teammates to Arizona. The Soccer team at Arizona has officially replaced the softball team as the homegrown team.

“We have a good class coming in,” explained Kaitlyn Lopez. “We are going to have a lot of fun making a difference and improving our team next year.”

Ironwood Ridge
Micah Wenzel, Soccer, Northwest
Roberto Zatarain, Soccer, Pima
Zachary Schmidt, Soccer, Pima
Tyson Otuafi, Football, Pima
Charles Healey, Football, Pima
Kaitlyn Lopez, Soccer, Arizona
Michelle Busse, Soccer, Arizona
Elizabeth “Liz” Fritz, Soccer, South Dakota
Emily Wilkinson, Cross Country/Track and Field, Western State
Trevor Wilson, Wrestling, ASU
Treyton Stender, Baseball, Pima
Kyle Petty, Baseball, Pima

________

Sheridan Cohen will join Ironwood Ridge stars Lopez and Michelle Busse at Arizona.
The three will team up with St. Augustine’s Lorena Aragon, Salpointe’s Jessica Culver, Emily Lai of Foothills, Susana Melendez of Nogales and LeeAndra Smith of Palo Verde next year.

Jenna Glad and Cohen look forward to playing against each other next year.

Catalina Foothills
Matt Walker, Soccer, BYU-Hawaii
Sheridan Cohen, Soccer, Arizona
Savannah Schmidt, Soccer, Chapman
Jenna Glad, Soccer, Colorado

Ryan Gray, Baseball, Gateway Community College

________

Daniel Gonzales is one of the hardest hitting linebackers in Arizona and Edgar Poe is one of the most accomplished receivers. Daniel might get a chance to hit Poe next year in the “Army/Navy” game.

“We have five kids and it’s been a sacrifice,” explained Edgar’s mom Angela. “We decided to move to Cienega five years for the academics and it’s a wonderful community. The football program is great and coach Hassey has been really good to my son.”

The fact that Navy is moving to the Big East was a tremendous draw for Daniel. He was able to fulfill his dream and serve our country while playing football. Dino Eidson thought his football career was over but his friends Kevin Thompson and Jalen Rogers talked Mesa’s coach into giving him a chance and he was grateful for the opportunity.

The Cienega softball team returns every player from last year but they will lose a lot when the season ends. The four girls who signed expect to compete for another state championship this spring before they say goodbye.

Cienega
Edgar Poe, Football, Army
Daniel Gonzales, Football, Navy
Kevin Thompson, Football, Mesa
Jalen Rogers, Football, Mesa
Jason Cox, Football, South Dakota School of Mines
Dino Eidson, Football, Mesa
Valerie Luera, Softball, Yavapai
Angelica Somoza, Softball, Adams State
Jessica Jarvis, Softball, Mesa
Alyssa Guevara, Softball, Pima

This entry was posted on Wednesday, February 1st, 2012 at 10:51 pm and is filed under Sports. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.