Riva Sharples | Editor
Students in Beresford, Alcester-Hudson, and Centerville now have another sport to try and play – soccer. A recreational league soccer team has just been started in Beresford with area students invited to join.
Practice is now underway (but there is still time to join!) with games slated to happen in April through early June. The league is organized through Dakota Domination of Sioux Falls.
Owen Reinalda, Athletic Director at Beresford High School, is happy to see this opportunity come to area students, thanks to Beresford graduate Pedro Hernandez-Mejia and his brother Josue, who are organizing and coaching the team.
“I’m thankful we have community members like Mr. Hernandez-Mejia who are willing to take time out of their lives to give kids in our community the opportunity to do something fun by coaching the youth in and around Beresford,” he said.
Starting a soccer group in Beresford has been something Hernandez-Mejia has dreamed of doing since he was a junior in high school at BHS.
“There have been attempts to create one in the past, but when the head of the club left and no one filled the role, it collapsed,” Hernandez-Mejia explained. “I wanted to bring it back up again because it gives students an opportunity to play a sport that the school doesn’t provide and a chance for other students to discover the sport itself.”
Currently, the hope is to have teams for middle through high school girls and boys.
“As of right now, we are creating a team for grades 9-12 boys, but we would also like to create a team for grade 6-8 boys since we currently have four middles school students who unfortunately cannot participate with the high school class,” he said. “We are also looking to start a girls team for both high school and middle school.”
Hernandez-Mejia encourages area students to give soccer a try.
“The friendships and bonds you make on the field and during practice are something to think about,” he said. “You meet and talk to people who you probably would have never talked to and come to find out that you have similar interests. Like any sport, learning to be on a team is essential to life, and soccer really brings that to life out of a person.”
Soccer is truly a world game, says Hernandez-Mejia.
“You can’t connect with other cultures and people from around the world as easily as you can with a ball and two items to indicate a goal,” he said. “This sport has also given me the opportunity to play alongside players from around the globe at Mount Marty University, and that truly is a once in a lifetime experience and privilege.”
Hernandez-Mejia grew up playing soccer.
“I’ve been involved with soccer ever since I was 4 years old,” he explains. “I’ve played it all my youth, through middle school, and through my two years of high school in California before covid. Moving here, I’ve played in an indoor soccer league my junior year before being recruited to play for DASC, the largest soccer club in South Dakota. Afterwards, I was recruited to play for Mount Marty University, where I played for four years and earned 2nd team player of the year, as well as making semifinals this past season for the first time in school history. It was at Mount Marty where I got the privilege to play with players from all over the globe, including the likes of Argentina, Germany, Lesotho, D.R. Congo, Thailand, Brazil, England, and many more.”
Beresford’s soccer league will participate in Dakota Dominion’s spring recreational season happening April through June. There will be between 8 to 10 games. A longer recreational season will happen in the fall.
Interested players are encouraged to come to practices, which are being held in Beresford at 4 p.m. on Thursdays and Fridays and occasionally on Tuesdays. There are also some open field soccer times being held in Beresford as well. Contact the school for more information.