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GilbertSunNews.com
GILBERT SUN NEWS | FEBRUARY 6, 2022
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Mesquite football coach steps down BY ZACH ALVIRA GSN Sports Editor
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cott Hare, who led the Mesquite Wildcats the last three seasons and won back-to-back 4A state titles in 2018-19, announced Monday he has stepped down as the program’s head football coach. Hare, who has recently obtained two master’s degrees and is in the process of completing his doctorate in sports leadership, said completing his dissertation was one of the main reasons for him stepping away as it will take “a great deal of time and energy.” “I will explore various options in leadership, sliding over to more of an advisory role within the football community,” Hare said in a prepared state-
Mesquite’s Scott Hare announced Monday he has stepped down as head football coach to focus on his dissertation as he pursues his doctorate in sports leadership. (Zac BonDurant/GSN Contributor)
ment. “I would like to be back as a head coach in the near future, but now is the time to for me to develop personally.” Hare spent the past three seasons building Mesquite into a powerhouse at the 4A level. The Wildcats went 30-8 overall in his three years, winning two 4A state titles with former five-star quarterback and current Oregon Duck Ty Thompson leading the offense. This past season, Mesquite was written off after losing Thompson and star wideout Eric Lira to graduation. The Wildcats were thumped in the first game to Open Division-bound Cactus but responded with yet another trip to the semifinals. More important than the wins, however, were the relationships Hare said he built with players and his staff. His
father and brother joined him for the two championship runs, something he cherished in real time and now after it has ended. “More important than the wins, have been the relationships I have cultivated with awesome student-athletes who really bought into the standards and high expectations that allowed us to be successful on and off the field,” Hare said. “I hope they enjoyed the process as much as I did.” Before Mesquite, Hare coached at Anderson High School in California in the early 2000s. He was hired to rebuild a struggling Spanish Springs (Nev.) team after an 0-10 campaign. He led the program for eight years, going 37-46
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Arizona Arsenal to hold soccer tryouts BY ZACH ALVIRA GSN Sports Editor
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rizona Arsenal Soccer Club, one of the top organizations for youth soccer in the state, is further expanding its empire to cater to adults looking to play at a high level. Arsenal announced Wednesday it had become the latest club to expand and join the United Premier Soccer League and Women’s Premier Soccer League. The leagues, which cater to players ages 1830 in a highly competitive club format, are among the largest professional-development organizations in the country and world. Teams in the two leagues span across the country. The women’s league alone has more than 125 teams with Arizona Arsenal being the latest to join. “We at Arizona Arsenal Soccer Club
Arizona Arsenal Soccer Club recently announced it was named an expansion for the United Premier Soccer League, a professional-development league catering to high-level players ranging from ages 18-30. Tryouts will be held in three sessions in February at Bell Bank Park. (Dave Minton/AFN Staff)
are super excited about this,” said Ty Iannone, the general manager of Arsenal’s two team joining the Premier Soccer League. “We’re going to expand into the professional soccer realm now. We want to give something to our youth they can strive for and play with. It will be the top team, in some sense.” Iannone said the process of putting these two teams together and joining the UPSL has been a long one. He, alongside Arsenal Technical Director Dave Belfort,
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