The Hot Springs soccer Trojans are trying to raise $5,000 for their rings for winning their first state championship, and they're two-fifths there after one day.
Members of the Hot Springs Police Department's SWAT team, in conjunction with the local Fraternal Order of Police and Chick-fil-A, collected a donation of $2,000-plus that was presented to Trojan team members Friday at the school.
"We wanted to come here and congratulate these guys on the state championship," said Lt. Billy Hrvatin, SWAT commander. "They did a good job, and we're proud of them. Just like these guys, we understand hard work and dedication and what it takes to succeed at a high level. There are a lot of the stuff that goes on behind the scenes for us that a lot of people don't get to see. We realize the kind of hard work it takes to win a state championship."
Hrvatin is the husband of Hot Springs High math teacher Donna Hrvatin, aiding as the 31 soccer team members look to raise $150 each for their rings.
"Mrs. Hrvatin ... came up to me earlier this week and let me know that the police officers were getting together and were going to see what they were able to do to help out the kids," Hot Springs coach Cory Sturdivant said. "That's just huge. The past few days we've had such an outpouring of support from the community for these boys. It's awesome. I don't even have the words to describe how awesome it is."
Faculty helped them Thursday with "Proud to be a Trojan" day, when teachers could pay $5 to the soccer program to wear jeans and their favorite Hot Springs High T-shirt at work.
"We're definitely pretty close to our goal," Sturdivant said. "Our goal we set was $5,000, and this is definitely going to get us there. We took a donation all day yesterday at school, and then we've had several other people from the community. It's all going to get us very close."
The Trojan players, many of whom were in attendance for Friday's ceremony, are very glad they'll likely not have to pay out of pocket to commemorate their 4-2 triumph over Valley View in the Class 5A final Saturday in Fayetteville.
"This is pretty awesome because it's my last year and I've been waiting on this for four years," said senior midfielder Benji Alvarez. "It feels good because a lot of times we didn't get much support because no one cares that much about soccer these days. Us getting the championship gave them motivation to cheer us on some more, and I hope the following year, we'll get even more support from the school."
Sturdivant said there will be a ring ceremony at some point during the summer break. The Lady Trojan basketball team also received their rings during the summer after winning the 2015 state title.
Sports on 05/28/2016