Mother’s Day may not officially take place until May 8, but the East Surry’s girls soccer team didn’t want to wait to showcase the women that helped shape their lives.
The Cardinal soccer team recognized all the team moms – biological or not – as part of a Mothers Appreciation Night game. The game was held Thursday, April 21 when the Lady Cards hosted Surry Central.
“We came up with this idea because moms are so important in our everyday life, and especially during our soccer season,” said East Surry junior Katie Collins. “Our moms always make sure we’re fueled up for our games, make sure we’re at practice and always make sure we’re prepared to play our best.”
Themed soccer matches aren’t a new concept for East Surry soccer. Cardinal head coach William Hart has encouraged his players to host these theme nights for more than a decade, including his time as the boys soccer coach.
“I want to give our juniors an opportunity to have some sort of awareness night because it promotes good citizenship and provides an opportunity for a service project,” Hart said. “The girls do 99% of the work, and I provide announcements. It’s always a special night.”
During Hart’s tenure, players have elected to host games raising awareness for diseases that affected the families of team members, such as epilepsy, brain cancer and breast cancer, while also honoring causes such as military appreciation and mothers appreciation. The team has worn special jerseys in some of the past games as well.
Collins, Tara Martin, and Emory Taylor were the main juniors who organized this night.
“Every player wrote their moms a thank you card and we decided to wear pink socks to represent our mothers,” Collins said. “This was very exciting for us because our moms will always be there for us – win or lose.”
Each player was accompanied by a maternal figure of their choosing during Thursday’s pregame. This ranged from biological mothers, step-moms, host moms or other representatives. All were announced by Hart and ran out to midfield for the starting lineups.
The team also wanted to recognize a maternal figure they all share.
“Mothers Appreciation Night also included our team mom and assistant coach JoAnn Sutterby,” Collins said. “She always makes sure that our bodies are taken care of to play or practice”
“She definitely wears a lot of hats, serving as a coach, trainer, confidant, cheerleader and team mom,” Hart said of Sutterby. “We wouldn’t be having the season we are without her.”
East Surry defeated Surry Central 1-0 to improve to 8-5-2 on the season.
Source: https://www.mtairynews.com
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