Volume 1, Issue 1; A Kick in the Newsletter Date:

Grass, RL Turner Boys Soccer September, 2010

Newsletter

A Kick in the Grass

RL Turner Boys Soccer
Newsletter
Special points
of interest:
2011 SOCCER TEAM HAS TOUGH ACT TO FOLLOW
For the past three years the R. L. Turner boy’s varsity this year’s team.
 12 Varsity Lions
soccer team has excelled both on and off the field. On the Coach Huston had this to say this about his 2011
returning
field, the boys have won 50 games, three tournament squad,
 New district in-
cludes Pearce and championships, a district championship, and back-to-back “Our team will be different, not better or worse, just
Highland Park area playoff championships. Off the field, all 2010 gradu- different. We lost our big guys from last year so this
 Jacob Van Comper- ating seniors are currently enrolled in college, and six are year’s team will be much smaller. Because we will be
nolle, Isai Mireles, playing college soccer.
and Edeher Ayala a small team, we will rely more on our quickness, skill
lead srong senior For the 2011 team the expectations are high. Turner and speed. The combination of these three should
class
graduated a very strong senior class but is excited about make for a very attractive style of play.”
 Marcus, Allen, the outstanding seniors this year that will take their place.
Jesuit, and Wake-
The past couple of seasons Turner boy’s varsity
land all on 2011
Jacob Van Compernolle (18AAAA midfielder of the soccer has enjoyed great support from the school, com-
schedule year), Isai Mireles (18AAAA Offensive MVP), and Ede- munity and alumni. They hope to have another great
 Coaches Huston her Ayala (18AAAA first team all-district) will anchor season to share with their Turner family in 2011.
(21 years), Jovel (10
years) and Gomez
(5 years) looking
forward to another
season.

Inside this issue: Our players, they realize that

Lions have tough act to
follow in 2011
in order to reach the next
level in the playoffs they
must play the best competi-
1 tion available.

Lions beef-up their non- 1

district schedule
Edeher Ayala and Isai
Mireles
Vincent Jovel, Turner’s
best kept secret
2011 May be best JV
squad ever
Former Lion:
Donny Perez
2011 Seniors were first
middle school team
Lions host 2 tourney’s in
2011
2
2
FUTBOL LIONS BEEF UP THEIR SCHEDULE
One thing is certain: when a
2 program is down it is easy to find
opponents. Everybody wants to
3 schedule a down program and are
very accommodating. This is not
4 the case for the Turner varsity
boy’s soccer team. Many of their
opponents from the past couple of
4
seasons have opted out of playing
the Lions. Because of this Turner
must look to schedule some formi-
dable opponents.
This is fine with the players.
They realize that in order to reach
the next level in the play-offs, they
must play the best. This season the
Lions are definitely playing the best.
The state 5A and 4A champions,
Jesuit and Frisco Wakeland are on
the schedule, as well as perennial
state contenders Marcus and Allen.
This tough non-district schedule
should get the Lions ready for the
all-important district race. The
boys know it will be a challenge
but they are excited about compet-
ing with these great programs.
 Volume 1, Issue 1; A Kick in the Grass, RL Turner Boys Soccer Newsletter

COACH GOMEZ THINKS THIS YEAR’S JV SQUADS

“Vincent loves COULD BE THE STRONGEST EVER
working with the kids
at Turner, after all, he If you happen to pass by the
fieldhouse at 6:30 in the morning
is one of them.”
you will hear what sounds like
- Head Boys Soccer thunder. In fact, it is the JV
Coach Marshall Huston Lions playing soccer in the in-
door facility. Every morning the
boys get there early so that they
can participate in open play time.
The fact that they wake up
around 5:30 shows how much
they love the game and are dedi-
cated to improving.
Coach Juan Gomez thinks this
may be one of their strongest
groups yet. That says a lot con-
sidering the Lion JV squads have
amassed a two year record of 71-
3-1 and have won four district
championships.
“This year’s JV teams will be
very strong because the midfield
is loaded,” Gomez said.
They better be strong because
they will be tested early this
season. They open with three
5A state contenders: Allen,
Plano and Skyline. The JV1
consists mostly of returning
sophomores with a few freshmen
mixed in. JV2 will be made up
almost entirely of freshmen.
Both teams will be trying to
win their 3rd consecutive district
championship in 2011. The
players know that the expecta-
tions are high. They want to
continue the Turner tradition of
outstanding JV squads in 2011.

VINCENT JOVEL: ONE OF RLT’S BEST KEPT SECRETS

If you ask Turner Head Boys lent parts.” in the way. He literally gives
Soccer Coach Marshall Huston For 10 years Vincent has every kid a chance. He plays
for reasons as to why their soc-worked tirelessly with the JV play- every player regardless of how
cer program has grown stronger ers. He develops them not only as tough the opponent or what the
each year for the past 10 years,players but as young men. He scoreboard reads. He does this
he will tell you that the numberloves working with the boys, and and yet still maintains an impres-
one reason is his assistant, Coach
they love playing for him. It is no sive win-loss record. In fact, the
Vincent Jovel. wonder, Vincent is one of them. Turner JV1 has not had a losing
Coach Huston says, “I may Vincent and his brother, Santos, season in over seven years. This
put the final car together, but both played soccer for Turner. makes Vincent easily the win-
Vincent provides me with excel- ningest coach at Turner.
Vincent does not let his ego get

Isai Mireles and Edeher Ayala:

Friendship forged through Soccer

Turner soccer player Isai
Mireles attended Vivian Field
Middle School. It was there that
he met his best friend, Edeher
Ayala. Isai convinced Edeher to
start playing soccer with him and
the two of them have been play-
ing together ever since. Today,
if you see one of them, you can
bet the other is not far away.
These two share a passion for
soccer, but that is where the
similarities end. Isai is outgoing,
spirited, and likes to take risks
on the field. If you have Isai in a
class, you are always aware of it.
On the other hand, one could
easily overlook Edeher. He is
quiet, reserved and rarely takes
risks in his game.
Isai and Edeher are an impor-
tant part of the strongest senior
class of soccer players ever at
Turner. They are team leaders
because they lead by example on
the field. Isai leads the team in
scoring and Edeher is one of the
assist leaders. Isai said, “Edeher
knows how to pass me the ball in
a way that makes it easy to
score.”

Page 2
 Volume 1, Issue 1; A Kick in the Grass, RL Turner Boys Soccer Newsletter
ONCE A LION, ALWAYS A LION:
If you have attended an R. L. Turner
soccer game you may have noticed a
large contingent of alumni. The unoffi-
cial leader of the RLT Boys Soccer
Alumni is Donny Perez. Donny gradu-
ated from Turner in 1998. He married
his high school sweetheart and fellow
Turner Alumus Morgan Pence. They
have been married for 14 years and have
three wonderful kids, Alexis 10, Jaidan
8 and Mateo 2.
Donny works for Reunion Title and
enjoys his job. “I am the Vice-President
of our Bilingual office. It is a great job
because I help people in the community,
and mostly Hispanic people, realize the
American Dream of owning a home,” he
said. He enjoys his job and gives credit
to Turner for giving him the tools neces-
sary for success.
Donny’s soccer career began at age 7
when his family arrived in Carrollton
from Colombia. Donny played many
years of select soccer before playing for
Turner. While playing for Turner
Donny was a standout center midfielder
on the 1997 team. This was one of
Turner’s strongest soccer teams in 25
years. Donny still holds two Turner
records: 24 single-season assists and
four single-game assists in the 1994
season.
Donny’s favorite memory of playing
at Turner was, “… a game we played
against Duncanville. Duncanville was a
powerhouse then. I scored on a free
kick outside the 18 yard box. It was
beautiful, right over the wall and dipped
into the right upper 90. We won that
game 2-0.” Donny played on two of
Turner’s finest teams, the 1997 and
1998 squads. These two teams set re-
cords for goals scored, fewest goals
against, and most wins. Donny was a
captain of those two teams and he has
some fond memories.
Page 3
DONNY PEREZ
“I will never forget the bus rides to and Donny, Morgan, Alexis, Jaiden,
from away games. The singing, laugh-
and Mateo
ing, joking, and just plain having fun. The
way the soccer team would proudly walk
in the halls because we were such a domi-
nate force. We were a bunch of proud
LIONS,” he said.
Donny still has a newspaper clipping
from The Lion’s Tale with his picture on it
that was mailed to him at the end of his
senior year season. It read:
“Congratulations on another great season.
Although I regret not having you in class,
I’m very proud of your actions on the field
and in school.” It was signed by Mike
Seeley. It is something that meant the
world to Donny.
Coach Marshall Huston said this about
Donny, “Donny was the first player I had
Senior night 1998, Donny with his parents
at Turner that I could build a team around.
He had remarkable skills, he understood
the game and he had a deadly shot on goal.
He was and is a natural leader, a coach on
the field. Soccer is a players’ game so
every good team needs a player like Donny
to keep them focused. Edeher Ayala is
that kind of player for us today.”
When asked about Donny’s high school
days, his wife Morgan (RLT class of ‘99)
said, “Everybody remembers their first
love. I would see him walking down the
hall to meet up with me between pass peri-
ods and get goose bumps and butterflies in
my stomach. The best part about Donny with Coach Huston, Alfonso Herrera,
and William Chow
Donny for me was that he is the total
package. He was not only committed
to soccer but also his family and his
school.”
Donny credits his parents and family for
his success on the field and in life. In fact,
his first goal at Turner was assisted by his
brother, Darold (RLT class of ‘95). Donny
said, “They taught me that I should work
just as hard off the field as on the
field. School was my number one priority,
soccer was my passion.”
 RL Turner Boys Soccer
Newsletter

RL TURNER HIGH SCHOOL CLASS OF 2011 WAS FIRST CFB-ISD MIDDLE

1600 S. JOSEY LANE
CARROLLTON, TX. 75006 SCHOOL SOCCER TEAM

In the spring of 2007, Coach Tyrone Larkins was the athletic coordinator at Vivian Field Middle School.
HUSTONM@CFBISD.EDU
With the urging of CFB-ISD Athletic Director Renee Putter, the district formed its first middle school soc-
cer league. Vivian Field had a strong group of 8th graders and was the dominant team that first season.
That group of Vikings included Jacob Van Compernolle, Isai Mireles, Edeher Ayala, Jordan Garcia, Gilbert
Soccer: the game the Aleman, Ismael Raodriguez, and Manuel Salinas. This group of seniors, perhaps Turners best group ever,
world and RL Turner will anchor this year’s varsity team. Coach Huston said, “I got to coach these kids in the 8th grade. We
play! have known each other for four years. I know what they are capable of and they know what I expect.”

Having a middle school program and Turner’s rise as a soccer power is no coincidence. Before 2007
many good players would slip through the cracks. Now the Turner soccer coaches can identify talented
players in the 7th and 8th grade and begin preparing them for Turner soccer. “We’ll see a kid in the 7th
grade who is not very skillful but is athletic. We can encourage him to get on a club team, get him excited
WE ARE ON THE WEB!!!! about playing soccer for RLT and presto! Two years later we have another solid 9th grade player to work
http:// with,” Huston said.
cfbstaff.cfbisd.edu/
“Vivian Field has an excellent coach in Kenny Infante and they’ve finished first or second every year
turnersoccer/
since we started the middle school soccer program. This means that the kids that come from Field already
have a winning attitude, they are used to winning and they expect it. This makes our job at RLT much eas-
ier. As coaches we now feel we have a six-year program to develop players.”

TURNER SOCCER TO HOST TWO TOURNAMENTS IN 2011

For the 11th consecutive year, RL Turner will host the largest
JV soccer tournament in the state. This year the RL Turner JV Showcase
will have 52 teams representing 40 high schools from across north
Texas.
The tournament will be held January 13 thru 15, 2011. The city
of Farmers Branch allows us to use the three immaculate soccer fields at
Cox Park. The bulk of the tournament is played at Cox but we also use
Vivian Field, Perry, Polk, and Blalack.
This year we are holding a Boys and Girls Varsity tournament
on the same weekend as the JV tournament. The varsity games will be
held on the same fields as the JV games. Spectators can buy a daily
pass or a tournament pass which admits a person to all games at all
sites.
These two tournaments are our soccer teams best opportu-
nity to raise money for things like the end of year banquet. We hope to
get 20 to 30 adult volunteers to help with concessions, ticket sales and
other jobs. Turner boys will operate Cox and Field while the Turner
girls will operate Perry middle school. Anyone interested in volunteer-
ing should see Coach Huston or Coach Maher.

2010 RL TURNER SOCCER PROGRAM

TURNER LIONS WIN 2010 CFBISD VARSITY TOURNY