Soccer teams participate in sportsmanship seminar

During the last 10 minutes of the game against Silver Creek High School on Dec. 2, the boys’ varsity soccer team was down 1-0. When the ball seemingly went out of bounds, a Silver Creek forward brought it back to play and put the ball past senior goalie Bobak Tooyserkani and into the back of the net. The goal was awarded, and Tooyserkani was furious. He shouted at the referee, using an obscenity in the process. The referee responded with a red card — an automatic ejection. 

“I really regret losing my temper,” Tooyserkani said. “I was close to losing my starting spot.” 

As a result of the incident and other concerns, all soccer teams attended a meeting on Jan. 7 about proper leadership on team sports and how to behave on the field. Athletic director Tim Lugo and principal Paul Robinson organized the meeting in corroboration with the 1440 Foundation, which paid for the three seminars. 

Joe Thomas, the speaker at the event, talked to the athletes primarily about the difference between talent and hard work. 

“The seminar changed me in the way I think about things now,” Tooyserkani said. “I realize that not only by losing my temper, I almost lost my spot, but also it affected the team as well. It just reminded me that I can't do selfish things like that anymore, that I have to play for my team.”

The meeting was set up in part because this year, CCS wants teams to focus on sportsmanship. 

“What I got out of it was to get you to strive to be better in sports,” said senior Will Guy. “To take them more seriously and to be leaders on the field and to really improve yourself and not take sports as an extracurricular, but as something you do day in day out.” 

Lugo decided to have the seminar for boys’ and girls’ soccer because of the consistent ejections that occurred in previous seasons.

“We decided to focus on boys’ and girls’ soccer because they tend to get the most ejections whether intentional or unintentional,” said Lugo.  

For the spring, Lugo hasn’t decided who the seminar will be given to, but he said he would like to host one for parents. Lugo thinks it would be good to get a parent perspective on the seminar. 

“So far the response has been great and it might be something that we might do for the future,” said Lugo.