Westside Story Newspaper – Online The News of The Empire – Sharing the Quest for Excellence
The journey that brought Indian Spring High School‘s boys’ varsity soccer team to win the CIF Division IV State Regional Championship is paved with grit and athletic talent.
Indian Springs defeated Citrus Hill High School 3-0 in the championship game on March 11, shutting out the school that beat them in penalty kicks just a week before. The soccer title is the first for the school, which has only had a soccer program for four years.
“Their ability to play as a team is tremendous,” said Indian Springs High’s Athletic Director John Chamberlain. “You see teams out there with two or three really good players. But with us, you have 10 players on the field who are all playing at a really high level and building each other up. That’s tough to beat.”
The Board of Education will honor the Indian Springs soccer champs at a reception at 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday, April 4 in the Community Room at the Board of Education building, 777 North F Street in San Bernardino. The public is invited to attend.
Ranked 5th in California and 24th in the nation, Indian Springs’ soccer team overcame some obstacles to reach the championship and end the season with a record of 23 wins, 4 ties, and 3 losses.
Maintaining good grades was an issue for some players, who were motivated by teammates to attend tutoring to remain eligible to play, said coach John Arient. Several players missed weeks of practice in December to visit family out of town. Another player quit mid-season.
But through it all, the players remained a team and became even more unified as the season progressed.
For Arient, who has coached soccer and volleyball in San Bernardino City Unified School District for 18 years, the victory is a sign of even better things to come.
“The majority of the team is returning to play next year,” Arient said. “And, we’ve started seeing college recruiters coming to our games.”
In fact, a few players who graduate in June are being recruited by colleges like Cal State San Bernardino and Cal State Dominguez Hills, while others are planning to play soccer for San Bernardino Valley College and Chaffey College.
