{"id":46360,"date":"2021-10-19T16:52:16","date_gmt":"2021-10-19T20:52:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.easternmennonite.org\/?p=46360"},"modified":"2021-10-25T09:47:58","modified_gmt":"2021-10-25T13:47:58","slug":"soccer-alumni-swell-homecoming-numbers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.easternmennonite.org\/es\/2021\/10\/soccer-alumni-swell-homecoming-numbers\/","title":{"rendered":"Soccer Alumni Swell Homecoming Numbers"},"content":{"rendered":"

Thirty-three alumni soccer players (see list at end of article) swelled the numbers of homecoming participants this year returning to campus Oct. 15 and 16, 2021, along with those who attended meals, class reunions, athletic competitions, and a Celebration of Music at Eastern Mennonite School. (Read about class reunions \u2014 a thriving or dying tradition? \u2014 here<\/a>.)<\/p>\n

Alumni Soccer<\/strong>
\nThe boys varsity soccer team worked hard against EMHS star players from as far back as 1993. The more easily-winded \u201celders\u201d had the advantage of more than 30 teammates, making \u201cfresh legs\u201d easy to come by. The alumni players also had a lot to prove, while EMHS coach Ryan Eshleman-Robles<\/a> used the homecoming opportunity to get all his players on the field, giving everyone time to experience intense field play. <\/p>\n

Organizer Kendal Bauman<\/a> reached out via text, Facebook, and email to former players from his nearly 30 years as head coach, drumming up keen interest in a short time. \u201cWarming up with the players took me back to so many games from the past,\u201d he said after the game, which ended with the alumni up 5-0. \u201cThere was a lot of reminiscing on the sidelines of special moments across the decades. I cherish the strong connections I still have with many players.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bauman resurrected a tradition he had as coach of giving each player a symbol at the end of a big game, which some told him they carried long into the future. On Saturday, he gave each player a playing card \u201cto symbolize that you have to play cards with other people, that is how connections and life friendships are made,\u201d he explained. \u201cI got many emails and texts from players expressing gratitude\u2026 It was very meaningful.\u201d<\/p>\n

Scott Chico \u201902 sent a photo of him, his two brothers, and their children to Bauman after the game, \u201cThanks again for putting it all together. Your passion is immense and inspiring. I\u2019m thinking we may have just inspired the next generation!\u201d (See photo at the end of this article.) <\/p>\n

Other activities<\/strong>
\nThe annual Homecoming pep rally moved outside Friday afternoon, thanks to COVID. \u201cThe change is awesome and one I hope we keep long-term,\u201d said Andrew Gasho, athletic director. Students from K-12 participated in creative relays and cheered each other on in activities planned by the Student Council Organization.<\/p>\n

Both JV and varsity volleyball had competitive play vs. Broadway with a packed gym cheering the varsity players on to five games before falling in the final game of the match. Face painting and popcorn by the student WeServe club before the games drew a lot of student interest.<\/p>\n

The Saturday fun run\/walk, organized by the cross-country team, brought out participants from elementary to high school age to color a shirt and traverse a two-mile course around and through EMS athletic fields.<\/p>\n

About 200 people enjoyed a picnic lunch put on by the Booster Club, despite rain. Former faculty and staff gathered to catch up and reminisce with Rebecca Yutzy,<\/a> EMS\u2019s current most \u201csenior\u201d faculty member, and James Rush, retired long-time US government teacher, as hosts.<\/p>\n

A Celebration of Music rounded out the activities. Student instrumentalists and vocalists shared in Orchestra, Winds, Jazz and String ensembles, as well as Touring and Chamber Choirs. The Rain Pickers<\/a> \u2014 with Perry Blosser \u201915 \u2014 and Buena compa\u00f1\u00eda<\/a> a capella group including four alumni \u2014 performed between the student sets.<\/p>\n

One of the strings selections featured the work of alumnus Janelle Zook \u201902 Cunalata with her arrangement of El Condor Pasa<\/em>. Cunalata, who lived in Ecuador for seven years, is a composer and music educator in southeastern Pennsylvania.<\/p>\n

Photos for this article and other EMS coverage are by: Trisha Blosser, Paul Leaman, Mike Weaver, Andrea Wenger, Delbert Wenger, Rebecca Yutzy, and alumni guests<\/p>\n

ALUMNI SOCCER PARTICIPANTS
\nJoel Yoder, 1993
\nThabo Fisher, 1996
\nJesse Blosser, 1998
\nDavid Wingfield, 1998
\nKurt Holsopple, 1999
\nEliot Swartz, 2001
\nJoel Ross, 2001
\nJared Stoltzfus, 2001
\nAdam Shank, 2002
\nRyan Chico, 2002
\nDavid Shenk, 2005
\nScott Chico, 2005
\nJustin Weirich, 2006
\nSteven Stauffer, 2006
\nJared Troyer, 2006
\nKevin Chico, 2008
\nBrad Gunden, 2008
\nBryce Shank, 2008
\nAustin Shank, 2008
\nJeremy Sauder, 2008
\nJosh Hertzler, 2009
\nMatt Blauch, 2010
\nMark Mast, 2011
\nParker Leap, 2011
\nIsaac Driver, 2012
\nDrew Vrolijk, 2012
\nChris Blauch, 2012
\nBryce Blosser, 2013
\nNikita Stoll, 2014
\nGrayson\tMast, 2014 (assistant coach)
\nDaniel Nyce, 2014
\nJeremy Sauder, 2010
\nPerry Blosser, 2014<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Thirty-three alumni soccer players (see list at end of article) swelled the numbers of homecoming participants this year returning to campus Oct. 15 and 16, 2021, along with those who attended meals, class reunions, athletic competitions, and a Celebration of Music at Eastern Mennonite School. (Read about class reunions \u2014 a thriving or dying tradition?\u2026<\/p>","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":46531,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[131],"tags":[46,320,140,340],"class_list":["post-46360","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-alumni","tag-alumni","tag-homecoming","tag-soccer","tag-volleyball"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.easternmennonite.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46360","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.easternmennonite.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.easternmennonite.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.easternmennonite.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.easternmennonite.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=46360"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.easternmennonite.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46360\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.easternmennonite.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/46531"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.easternmennonite.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=46360"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.easternmennonite.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=46360"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.easternmennonite.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=46360"}],"curies":[{"name":"gracias","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}