The introduction of the Anchor Award by Caravan soccer head coach Antonio Godinez, intended to reward a player who shows leadership on the field, has newly motivated the soccer team. There is an interesting story behind this award with spiritual relevance, yet not many people outside the soccer team know about its importance.

The Anchor Award is a metaphor for the leadership that binds the team together. Much like an anchor’s weight that holds down a ship, the anchor of the soccer program uses leadership to hold the team steady.

“In order to weather the storm, you need an anchor,” says Coach Godinez. “It stands for stability, it is for hope, and it is for leading by example.”

One way a player can be awarded this honor is if they show stability on the field. When it comes to showing stability, no one is more steadfast than goalie Julian Rodriguez. One of the greatest examples of his unwavering focus was shown in a game between the Caravan and the Stevenson Patriots earlier this season. The outcome was a tie, and even when one goal could’ve resulted in a loss for Mount Carmel, Rodriguez remained confident.

“I don’t think about anything,” said Rodriguez. “I only focus on the game. It’s just another day in the office. A save is a save. If you mess up, forget about it and move on to the next one.”

The Anchor Award is not earned without practice. On the soccer team, practice is supposed to be harder than an actual game. When Mount Carmel High School is out for the summer, the soccer team remains on the field to practice. It can be up to 95 degrees, and the soccer team will still practice. Every single day the team’s workout is guaranteed to be grueling. This is how a leader is made, and Rodriguez agrees that practice must be this way.

“You must have a satisfaction after giving your hardest during practice, so that the game is not difficult,” says Coach Godinez. “The game can actually be enjoyed because you’re prepared.”

One of the reasons senior midfielder Aiden Sauseda won the Anchor Award following a loss to Glenbrook South High School is because he led by example. His position demanded courage as he was constantly rotating from offense to defense and either pushing the ball into the opponent’s goal area or defending his own.

“The Anchor Award is awarded to people who lock it down and provide someone to look up to,” said Sauseda. “I was really leading by example for some games.”

The idea of an anchor has had massive prevalence on the soccer team, but its origins are lesser known. The idea came from Coach Godinez during a stay at Coyoacan México. In passing a man selling various wares, Godinez noticed a rusty anchor for sale. Upon reflecting on the anchor, he realized something that had great prevalence in his life.

“I told the boys, for me the anchor in my life is God,” said Coach Godinez. “I want them to realize that, yes, we can be the anchor, but our anchor for our team is God.”

Defining God as an anchor is how Coach Godinez explains this metaphor in a Catholic sense. In recognizing that the people around us can also be anchors, he reflects on one more important aspect of his life.

“My mom has been the best leader that I’ve ever been around,” says Coach Godinez. “She was an executive director of a nonprofit for more than twenty-five years. She taught me to work for the voiceless.”

The values represented by the Anchor Award are also shown off the field. Leading by example is just as important in practice, as it is in a game.

“I look at it as a journey,” Coach Godinez says. “There’s a picture of John Justic having his tie tied by Andres Compes. Now that Justic’s a senior he does the same for freshmen.”

This award isn’t just symbolic for the soccer team, but it is symbolic of what it means to be a man of Carmel as a whole.

“We’re not only raising standards on the field, we raise standards in the classroom,” says Coach Godinez. “We’re raising standards in everything we do, and it’s contagious.”