Jesuit soccer was ranked the number one team in the nation this past fall by MaxPreps. Shown here is the MaxPreps Tour of Champions presented by the National Guard. / Courtesy photo

Year in and year out the varsity soccer team at Carmichael’s Jesuit High School is top notch. Some are absolutely dominant, others are just really good. The 2012 version fell into the former category. The Marauders finished the season a ridiculous 27-1-1 and were named the top high school boys soccer team in the nation by MaxPreps, which is essentially the go-to place for everything high school sports.

For securing the nation’s top rank, Jesuit was host to the Army National Guard and MaxPreps founder Andy Beal at Jesuit’s spring sports rally on March 1.

“(The presentation) was pretty cool,” said Jesuit Athletic Director Chris Fahey. “It was the first time that a school in our region was awarded by MaxPreps.”

Along with the recognition of being number one, Jesuit was presented with a banner that will soon adorn the gymnasium as well as a trophy in the shape of a minuteman. More than 14,000 high schools put boys’ and girls’ teams on soccer fields across the country, but only 20 teams (10 boys and 10 girls) will be honored by MaxPreps as part of its Soccer Tour of Champions.

While the 2012 team from Jesuit had all the skill needed to dominate, everyone associated with the team spoke to how tight the guys were as a team.

“They were truly a team. They had a few (college) scholarship players, but the entire team was selfless. They were willing to sacrifice,” said Fahey.

After an early-season 2-0 loss (ironically to Jesuit High School of Portland, OR), the team had a meeting where the players came together and vowed to play better from then on. It must have worked, seeing as how the Marauders won 20 straight games following the meeting.

Jesuit Head Coach Paul Rose was excited about the presentation at the school. First and foremost he saw it as recognition of the effort put in by his players.

“You can have all the talent in the world, but if you don’t work hard you won’t get it done in the end,” Rose said. “It didn’t matter who on our team scored; it just mattered that we scored and the other team didn’t,” he laughed.

Scoring while not allowing the opposing team to score was something that Jesuit did exceptionally well in 2012. The team allowed just eight balls to cross the line in 29 contests. Jesuit held its opponent scoreless in 23 of those games.

Jesuit was the top-ranked team in MaxPreps’ 2011 soccer standings as well, but it was not one of the six schools recognized during the Tour of Champions. In its second year of inclusion on the tour, soccer has gone from six teams recognized in 2011 to 20 in 2012. The MaxPreps website reads that the teams included on the tour “aren’t just good… or great. They are relentless, tenacious and unstoppable.”

With 82 wins, three losses and five ties over the last three seasons, this may be just the first of many visits to Carmichael for MaxPreps and the Army National Guard.

“It brought a smile to everyone’s face when we won (the award),” Rose said. “We’re glad we could bring it back to our area.”

Members of the St. Francis Robotics team (the “Fembots”) with their newest creation, “Lucky.” This robot plays soccer – it can actually kick a ball and run with it – and is able to hang from seven feet in the air, thanks to a robotic hook. Left to right, Dani Demas, junior; Jasmine Randhawa, sophomore; and Ashley Peng, senior. / Valley Community Newspapers photo, Susan Laird

STEM is an acronym for Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics – areas in which women traditionally do not pursue careers. Some 30 companies staffed booths at the fair, with the intent to show the students at the all-girl school just what is possible.

“I want them to see the technology throughout the branches of service,” said Army National Guard Staff Sergeant Stephen Kujawa as he encouraged the young women to check out a secured radio, night vision goggles and other items. “This allows them to see the technology behind the scenes. Military technology developed the GPS, night vision goggles and secured radios. It benefits everyone.”

The Fembots, the St. Francis High School Robotics Team, had their own booth to show off two of the robots the club made in the last two years: the B-2 and “Lucky.”

The students designed the B-2 to pick up moon rocks – simulated by “moonballs.” Lucky is the 2010 model. It plays soccer and scores points “by hanging off a seven-foot tall tower as long as possible,” according to members of the team.

Students learned at the fair that they can approach technology from many different angles.

“I’m a very hands-on person,” said Camille Soutiere, a junior and rookie robotics team member. “I’m not an electronics person, I’m the building kind of person. Tell me what to build and I’ll build it.”

“I just thought it would be really cool to learn about robotics and just to learn more about being around public speaking,” said Jordin Fong, a freshman and also a rookie robotics team member. “This semester, I did a presentation on my rookie year thus far to PLATT, one of our sponsors. PLATT is an electronics supply company.”

Career opportunities presented ranged from (literally) rocket science to nursing to accounting and financial management to criminal science investigation (CSI).

“We’re still using rockets in the space program,” said Sharon Clark, director of training and organizational development at Aerojet. “We would hire a woman engineer in a heartbeat.”

“We’re here to encourage young women to consider careers in STEM,” said Lora Anguay, SMUD project manager. “It’s important because we are always looking for engineers and people working in engineering and technology.”

Anne Smith Harty, NP was on hand to discuss the advantages of nursing careers. She is also an alumna of the school.

“Nursing can be a very flexible for women,” Harty said. “If you work in one field for a few years and you want to move on to a different field in nursing, you can. You don’t have to start all over. You use critical thinking skills and it’s very rewarding to know at the end of the day that you have helped someone. And: you can get a job anywhere in the world.”

“We’re here just to expose students at St. Francis to potential careers with the FBI that are related to science,” said Steven Dupre, a special agent with the Federal Bureau of Investigation. “Engineering and science majors are backgrounds that we recruit for agents and professional support positions, such as evidence response teams. Science ties directly into investigations.”

Senior St. Francis Troubadours were taking a hard look at the possibilities in store for them, as well. College application deadlines are looming ever closer, and the choice of major can be vital with admission to some colleges. The stakes for high school seniors across the country are high, so every bit of information about a potential major is important. The choice of college can turn on a dime.

“I want to go into prosthetics,” said Senior Ashley Peng. “I originally wanted to go into mechanical engineering. But an experience I had at the Shriner’s Hospital made me think about the need for prosthetics. And a sculpting class with Mr. Romo made me interested. At the fair today, I met people from Hanger Prosthetics and Orthotics. They handed me an entire list of colleges that specialize in prosthetics. So the STEM Fair really helped with my college apps.”

California is home to natural and man-made disasters: earthquakes, fires, flooding and even extreme weather situations, such as tornadoes, are not out of the realm of possibility here.

Because of the on-going potential for emergencies in the Sacramento region, city and county organizations and officials are co-sponsoring the Sacramento Emergency Preparedness and Self-Reliance Fair on Saturday, Oct. 16 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Guest exhibitors will include the Sacramento Office of Emergency Services, the American Red Cross, the Sacramento City Fire Department, the California Emergency Management Agency, the Drowning Accident Rescue Team (DART), the Sacramento Police Department, Army Corps of Engineers, United Animal Nations, Pacific Gas & Electric, the California Conservation Corps, CERT (Community Emergency Response Team) and many more.

Visitors to the event can learn about: building disaster-resilient families, having an emergency plan, emergency communication, emergency shelters, power generators, first aid kits, employment, wills, trusts, estate planning, budgeting and saving, a three-month supply of rotatable food, crime prevention, Neighborhood Watch, flood preparedness, water storage and purification, children’s emergency activities and much, much more.

This event is open to everyone in the community.

The event will be hosted by members of The Sacramento California Stake of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Sponsors include the Sacramento City and County Office of Emergency Services, Council Member Robbie Waters, Council Member Bonnie Pannell and County Supervisor Jimmie Yee.

Individuals of all ages will have the opportunity to learn how to better prepare for natural and man-made disasters at this free event.

The Fair will include over 40 exhibits and displays highlighting topics such as: food and water storage, stretching your food dollar, employment, family evacuation plans, 72-hour kits, water purification, first aid, fire safety and much more.

Emergency vehicles will also be available for tours and close-up inspection, including an Army National Guard HH60 helicopter, a Coast Guard rescue boat, ambulance, highway patrol car and a CERT (Community Emergency Response Team) trailer. The Army National Guard HH60 plans to land around 10:30 a.m. and CERT will be performing several “triage” demonstrations throughout the day.

“The fair has been designed to provide useful information to families regardless of where they are in the wide spectrum of emergency preparedness and self-reliance,” said John Cassinat, president of the Sacramento Stake. “There will be meaningful experiences and valuable information for the person or family who doesn’t know where to begin, as well as for those who are well on there way to sustainable independence and self-reliance during most emergencies.”

The Fair will be held at a large property owned by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints located at 7401 24th Street in Sacramento.

This event is free and family oriented. Translators will be available for multiple languages.

“It is important that we as a community are prepared for any kind of unanticipated event,” Cassinat said. “The more educated we are as a community, the more resilient we will be.”