We believe there’s something more important than just winning or losing a tournament. We believe that the team, school, and fans who support their athletes with dignity and class are the true champions. That’s why we’ve proudly sponsored the WIAA/Rural Mutual Insurance Sportsmanship Award for 56 years.
We would like to congratulate Cedar Grove-Belgium on being this year’s recipient of the Girls Soccer Sportsmanship award.
When talking with Head Coach, Zac Garza, we asked him what this award meant to him as a coach, the team and community along with how they teach their athletes about sportsmanship.
Every year we come into the season with the mindset that soccer is more than just a game; that we can have a tremendous impact on and off the field. To be able to witness the hard work of these amazing young ladies each and every day and to be rewarded with something like this is a truly special experience for myself as a coach. They have firmly embraced what it means to lead by example and display the type of dignity, class, and honor that makes me, their school, and their community proud.
Every season the theme is the same and our coaching staff makes that clear to the players; our jobs are to help our players become the best people they can be, first, and then the best soccer players that they can be, second. Our methods continually put these young ladies into positions that challenge them and prepare them for the real world. We try to give them the type of experience that stays with them and that they can look back on later in life to think “Hey, being part of the CGB soccer program helped shape me into the person I am today”. In doing so, we strive to develop strong, positive leaders that can set examples for those around them and push to help change the world for the better. That all begins with sportsmanship and that is why sportsmanship is so important. Sportsmanship allows us to accept defeat with grace and honor and to achieve victory with humility and respect. Sportsmanship is the platform through which we are able to understand what it means to better ourselves in the competitive world of athletics.
Coach Garza just completed his first season as Head Coach, he had been his dad’s assistant for the program since spring of 2012, making this his 9th season coaching with the program.
Coach Garza said. “I am extremely fascinated in watching pieces fit together with the purpose to achieve a goal. This means that coaching gives me the ultimate joy in being able to see players grow and compete, utilizing different systems and tactics, and being able to come together for 90+ minutes to give everything we have to being the best that we can be. To me, there is nothing more satisfying than witnessing that type of human growth and comradery that comes from being involved on a team.”
It is truly an honor to receive this award and know that what we do does not go unnoticed. I appreciate you taking the time to reach out to me and for Rural Mutual for sponsoring an award that can help us continue to grow and strive for excellence.
Congratulation again on a great season and winning the WIAA/Rural Mutual Sportsmanship award. This is a great achievement for Cedar Grove and Belgium communities.
