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Cardinal Football Pride

Oct 02, 2024 10:59AM ● By Jody Reeves

The team played their hearts out, that much is certain.

The Soda Springs football team traveled to Malad last week to take on the Dragons during their homecoming.  I could break down the game like I have been doing all season and give the play by play so that you the reader would know what took place in the game.  I could talk to you about the Cardinals lone score in the game which was exciting due to a bobbled snap and a good catch and run by the running back.  In the end the final result was much the same as the rest of the season has been.  The Cardinals lost the game by the score of 35-6.  To say the least, this year's season has been a frustrating one for Cardinal fans.  The Cardinals are now on a thirteen game losing streak with three powerhouse teams still left on the schedule.  So how did the Soda Springs football program get to this point?  What went wrong?  I cannot answer those questions but it is likely due to several different factors.  What I will speak to in this article is where do we go from here?

Several readers will know that even though I am a resident of Caribou County I do not live in Soda Springs.  My children did not go to Soda Springs High School.  I didn’t even grow up in Idaho.  Some would still consider me a transplant even with being married to a local and living in the county for the past twenty years.  Despite all of those facts, what I do know is Soda Springs has very loyal fans that are proud of who they are and where they are from.  This is a must for a program to turn around so in that aspect we have a foundation to build on.  Community support is crucial for any team to become a success.  Talk to the athletes outside of games.  Let them know that they are being seen and that people are proud of their work whether they win or lose.  The power of positive affirmations on a young person is immeasurable.  When a teen knows that adults have faith in their abilities their confidence grows as well as their potential.  

Now some will argue that words cannot take an 0-5 team and have them win their final four games of the year.  That may be true.  As I mentioned earlier the remaining schedule for the Cardinals is not one that anyone in the state would want at this point in the season.  However, let's take a look at the makeup of the current roster of the Cardinal team.  The vast majority of the players are sophomores and freshmen.  In essence the Cardinals have been playing a varsity schedule with a jv squad.  That is a tall order for any team.  I think of my own sons who have gone through high school and the mental and physical changes that took place with them from ninth to twelfth grade.  Those changes were huge.  It is very difficult for any group of underclassmen to competitively play against teams of upperclassmen.  So take a step back and think about what that must say about those younger players on the Cardinal team.  The ones that know they have the deck stacked against them but are still willing to strap it on every week and go to battle.  Just imagine being in their shoes.  I don't know about you but I respect that kind of toughness.  And what about that handful of juniors and seniors that are still with the team?  It would be easy to throw in the towel for them knowing what is coming up in the next few weeks but yet they remain.  They lead their younger teammates out onto that field and stand with them as one.  Give me those kids any day of the week.  This year's team and how they choose to finish the season will set the tone for the Cardinal football program moving forward.  

On Friday the Cardinals will host a very tough and upset West Side team that just suffered their first loss of the season.  Soda will be huge underdogs in this game and the Pirates may just dominate the scoreboard.  But I won't be watching the score.  Instead I will be focusing on the Cardinal players.  If you get the chance I encourage you to head to the field Friday night and watch some honorable young men leave it all out on the field.  And when the game ends try to make an effort to shake the hands of as many of them as possible while letting them know you appreciate their bravery and for playing with Cardinal Pride.             

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