Middle school co-ed soccer team wins 2 years in a row

Since Saturday, April 25, the Sedona Red Rock Middle School co-ed soccer team has been celebrating its 7-1 victory over Cottonwood’s Dr. Daniel Bright School in the Verde Valley League Championship.

“It felt nice to give Sedona a big win,” seventh-grader Aiko Walker said.

This is the second year in a row the team’s won the championship. The Scorpions have had a nearly undefeated season as well, with only one loss to Mountain View Preparatory in its last game before playoffs.

“I liked being on a really big team — a co-ed team — because I’ve usually just been on all girls,” seventh-grader Caelan Cobban said.

Both girls said they’ve improved a good deal since the beginning of the season.

“I think I’ve gotten more confident with the ball,” Cobban said.

Walker said her form’s gotten a lot better.

“We had a wide variety of skill on the team and they really came together as a team,” head coach Harmony Walker said. “They trained and conditioned hard.”

Most of the students have some experience with the local American Youth Soccer Organization, and the others either played some club soccer or previous years on the soccer team.

“The kids were coachable and competitive,” Harmony Walker said. “Soccer is part of their soul.”

Beyker Basto, a sixth-grader, said he’s been playing for about five years and loves to play on the offensive.

“It’s good to feel useful to the team [by scoring],” he said.

Seventh-grader Hylan Brown said it felt good after each win, but he said the competition was lower than he’d hoped.

“We could 10-0 every team, basically,” he said. “That kind of got boring.”

But winning he said wasn’t everything. The others agreed it was fun to play with friends on the team.

“I liked having my friends on the team and being able to talk to them,” seventh-grader Jaylah Salas said.

Aiko Walker said she’s excited to play in her last year of the co-ed team next year. After that, teams are divided by gender and the competitiveness increase.

She’s not sure if she’ll continue with soccer or her other sport, basketball.

Cobban also plays basketball and Salas plays volleyball, which they may try to focus on during high school, but neither have decided yet. Both said they’re excited for next year’s soccer season, though.

Basto said it’s all soccerfor him. He has two more years on the co-ed team before high school begins.

The team had a celebration dinner following its victory, and another celebration lunch with fellow students at school on Thursday, April 30.