Over the weekend, McGill-Toolen won the school’s first-ever girls soccer state championship. The win was made even more remarkable because it came in the first season for Cheryl Flores as head coach.
McGill-Toolen allowed only one goal in four playoff games, beating Vestavia Hill 2-0 to earn the title.
That awesome accomplishment should be the entire story. But in a world in which politics has infiltrated everything, including high school sports, it’ not.
McGill-Toolen’s soccer title was the fifth won by private schools this year. That’s five out of eight titles. In fact, all eight championships were won by either private schools, teams from Shelby County or both.
The private school domination in soccer will only further fuel the argument that public schools have little chance to successfully compete against private schools.
It’s easy to look at the numbers and come to that conclusion, but you’re doing a disservice to the players involved to not also recognize what sort of sacrifice and commitment it takes — whether you’re at a large private school or a tiny public school — to reach the ultimate goal of a state championship.
For Threaded Fasteners, I’m Randy Kennedy with Nuts and Bolts of the Game.
