On and off the field, Fenton High’s soccer teams emphasize building character. Throughout the year, the teams have several service events that require them to be involved in their community.

“We are [currently] collecting plastic caps,” senior Mallory Lehmann said. “They’re cleaned to build a bench in the honor of Becky Cubr who was a great friend and parent of Fenton soccer and athletics.”

This project honors Cubr’s hard work and support for the teams, as she passed from a second battle of breast cancer this July.

“Her sons were both members of the boys soccer team, and other athletics at Fenton,” junior Macy Melero said. “She was a fixture on the sidelines, as she always had her camera ready, documenting the athletes on and off the field. She took many of the team portraits and created the banners that hung on the fence of the soccer field.”

A Bench for Becky is one of several projects the teams do to form a connection with the community.

“Being involved in the community and working on projects as a team really helps the team on the field,” Melero said. “Community service is a give and take situation. There is a lot of planning, dedication and hard work that goes with service projects, which are very valuable and important lessons. When we learn these lessons through community service, we use them on the field, and it allows us to play harder in a game.”

Fenton Soccer also aims to create familial relationships amongst the players by appointing “big and little sisters.”

“‘Big and little sisters’ are two people paired up for the season, one being older than the other,” sophomore Alexandra Lutz said. “Personally, my “big sister” for soccer season was my actual biological sister, Maggie Lutz, so she made sure I gave it 100 percent during the soccer season, as well as virtual school.”

Thinking of the team as a family transcends into their playing on the field.

“‘Love never graduates’ is the girls soccer team’s ‘motto,’” Melero said. “To me, it’s all about friendship. As a team, we all work so hard during the season, not only on the field but off as well. Coach Sullivan is very adamant about team bonding. We are constantly finding things to do together, making those friendships stronger, so that by the end of the season, we aren’t just friends, we are sisters. ‘Love never graduates’ means that even though someday we will graduate from FHS, the sisterhood we have created will not.”

In the end, they don’t go to practice just to get better, but also to be better.

“Good character and character development are extremely important on a team,” Melero said. “You can be the best soccer team in the world, but unless you have a good moral compass and you demonstrate the qualities of good character on and off the field, it will be nothing. Quite honestly, most of the soccer players that are ever remembered aren’t necessarily remembered by the score of the game at the end, but they are remembered for the type of player that they demonstrated on and off the field.”

A Bench for Becky allows the teams to put their lessons to work.

“The soccer program chose a bench to honor Becky because of the type of person she was,” Melero said. “Becky always made the time to talk to you, no matter how busy she was. She was so caring, thoughtful and selfless, even at her worst. A bench symbolizes gathering; where people can talk and just enjoy each other’s company, which is exactly what Becky loved.”

Plastic cap donations can be brought to the soccer field during any practice or game. For more information, please visit this acceptable caps list.