By Coach Juan Carlos Aguilar
AZ FOOTY Soccer Coach
(July 21, 2014)
For the past 8 years I have been the AZ Footy soccer team coach. Starting with AYSO (Arizona Youth Soccer Assoc.), the team became a traveling soccer club 7 years ago. The team has been able to compete around the state and outside the state. The boys play with the best of the best soccer teams. Up until now the AZ Footy soccer team has returned home with 12 gold and silver championship medals! Each and every one of these boys truly plays their heart out for the wonderful game of soccer.
Over the years, the boys have given back to their Sedona and Verde Valley community by coaching the younger generations to play and love the game of soccer. They volunteer to help the elderly when they are moving to a new home, as well as cleaning their yards. They help the City of Sedona with the St. Patrick’s Day Parade, by setting up and taking down the various tents, water stations, tables with chairs that are used during the festivities. The team has also contributed in the efforts of clearing and pulling all the unwanted weeds at the Wetlands on the west side of Sedona on State Route 89A.
The team has now joined together with Sedona Pines Resort, Highlands Resort at Verde Ridge and working within the ADOT Adopt-A-Highway program to earn our funding. We are cleaning the 2-mile highway section for the Sedona Pines Resort on State Route 89A and the 1-mile Highlands Resort at Verde Ridge section located on Highway 260 near Camp Verde [3 miles total] four times per year.
The team has learned how and why it is important to help keep America’s highways looking clean and beautiful. Our players have been amazed at the amount and type of trash that they have collected and how many bags they have filled! They feel very fortunate to be living in this beautiful red rock country. We know that many tourists and residents drive these two highways to get to Sedona and other Verde Valley destinations. We wish to make our highways visually pleasing to those that travel on them. We know that what we do has an impact on the image and economy of our area.
Our players would encourage other youth groups to join in this effort and assist one of the many ADOT Adopt-A-Highway groups in the Sedona, Verde Valley and Yavapai County area.
We would like to thank ADOT for their brush cutting and mowing efforts to make our task easier, safer for us and the vehicles that use the highway shoulder for emergency purposes. ADOT’s efforts help reduce the fire dangers that endanger our communities.
We would have beautiful clean highways throughout the state and the nation if education, awareness and participation in this effort would spread throughout Arizona and America. In the future, we will be reporting on the types and quantity of objects we find and our efforts to claim the aluminum containers that will be used to support our funding needs.
If you are up for the challenge and wish to join our effort please contact your local Adopt-A-Highway groups and let them know you would like assist them and earn your funding needs by participating in the much publicized “America the Beautiful & BagReadyJobs” effort that originated in Arizona.
Please contact me if you have any questions, comments or concerns.
AZ Footy soccer is building tomorrow’s role models and leaders.
Coach Juan Carlos Aguilar
AZ FOOTY Soccer Coach
(928) 300-6180
jcaguilar05@gmail.com
