Mustangs win association’s sportsmanship award

• The Marble Falls Mustangs hoist the first of three trophies they won during the 2024 season. The Mustangs added another award, this one for how they conduct themselves during matches. Photos by Jennifer Fierro/TexasChalkTalk.com
• Former Marble Falls High School boys soccer coach Rick Hoover says winning a sportsmanship award is a reflection of his program, the Marble Falls Independent School District athletic department and the community.

The Capital Area Referees Association selected the Marble Falls High School boys soccer team as its 2024 Sportsmanship of the Year recipient in Class 4A.

This is the first year the association has handed out the Sportsmanship awards and officiates matches lo cated in a wide area.

“They take care of outside of Waco all the way down,” Mustangs head coach Rick Hoover said. “Yeah I was surprised. You never know the other teams and what the experiences the referees have had.”

The Mustangs, who repeated as the District 24-4A champions, take to heart what their coach- es tell me about officials and their calls. “We focus on not complaining about calls,” Hoover said. “I don’t remember ever complaining about a call and a referee saying, ‘Yeah Rick. You’re right. I’m going to change the call.’ We tell our players to shut your mouth, get up and go. Because anything you say or do can’t positively affect us. It shows through to the guys and girls managing the game.”

Association president Andy Evangelos noted the Mustangs displayed the very best of what athletics teaches, which was a reflection of Hoover, who “retired from coaching” April 11.

"I personally officiat ed one of coach Hoover’s matches this year,” Evangelos said. “What I can say is that his teams are hard working and passionate, yet respectful. They play physical but fair and accept officials' decisions.

Coach Hoover supports officials and helps create a learning environment on the field. In sports com petition and winning, of course, are important — you should always play to win — but having sight of the end goal of developing adults should be paramount.”

The president said the Mustangs fit the criteria in many ways, adding voters take in every part of a match, including fans and how they conduct themselves.

“We also value the parents and school environment as spectator behavior makes up a third of the scoring,” he said. “I have worked with Jennifer Dykes, the assistant athletic director (John Berkman), and it is clear that they value officials as part ners in the community.”

Hoover was happy to know the environment at Mustang Stadium and the fans were included in the scoring.

“I think it’s a great testament to our administration and our community,” Hoover said. “If you go somewhere and the crowd is nuts, that reflects on your team. If the team is acting crazy and not pro- fessional, that reflects on the community.”

Evangelos noted offi cials used a rating system to determine the sportsmanship winners. They give points to the players, coaches and spectators.

“We use the collective ratings at the end of the season to determine honors — 4.3 average and above — and high honors — 4.7 average and above,” he said. “We also choose a winner in each classification based on the highest score.”

“Anytime someone looks at your program and puts it at the top, it’s an honor to have,” he said. “I do think it’s a big honor for the community. This is something (athletic director Keri) Timmerman should be proud of. He’s big on these types of things. Discipline and respect is what he’s all about.”

The association plans to continue highlighting the teams and communities that exemplify the very best of athletics.

“We will continue this in years going forward as we want to recognize all of the great experiences that we have as part of the game,” Evangelos said. “We give an award for boys and girls in (Classes) 4A, 5A, 6A and private schools, eight in total. We cover approximately 100 programs throughout the greater Austin area, and we are recognizing the top school in each classification."

He pointed out the association is on the hunt for more officials. Those who are interested can go to capitalreferees.org for more information.

"Being a soccer official is an extremely rewarding way to be part of the game,” Evangelos said. “(More than) 90 percent of the interactions that we have on the field are posi tive. We are always look- ing for new officials to

join our ranks.”

Jennifer Fierro publishes reports about area youth athletic events on her website TexasChalk-Talk.com. To send her a note, email fierrojenni fer@yahoo.com.