HILL AIR FORCE BASE, Utah -- For the last six months, the Hill AFB varsity soccer team has been preparing to compete in the prestigious military soccer tournament known as the Defender’s Cup. Twenty-three players – along with team support members – will head to San Antonio Sept. 2 to square off against three dozen other military teams to test whether the team’s hard work has paid off.
“I think we will do well and go deep in the tournament,” said Devin Swanson, coach and player on the team. “It will be interesting to see, but there’s some excitement with our team.”
The Defenders Cup is one of the largest military soccer tournament in the world, hosted annually by Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland over Labor Day weekend. About 40 teams from military bases around the country will converge on the Lone Star State to compete for bragging rights.
Last year, Hill’s team finished in the middle of the pack at the four-day Defenders Cup. With expectations of a better finish, the team has been training since March. They have been practicing three times a week and the team competes weekly against local teams to hone skills, improve conditioning and dial in chemistry. They also joined a highly competitive league in Salt Lake City for additional practice.
“It’s been pretty intense,” said Staff Sgt. Jacob Shoemaker, a player on the team who has been acting in a coaching role while sidelined with a hip injury. “There’s been a huge learning curve in playing matches against highly skilled teams. You learn just how much you have to prepare in terms of fitness, physicality and mental endurance.”
As a gauge to progress, at the end of May the Hill team competed in the Commander’s Cup, a six-team military tournament hosted by the Real Salt Lake professional soccer team. The result was disappointing.
“We didn’t perform well,” Swanson said. “It was a real gut check. We learned some hard lessons that we will benefit from, but ultimately we know we have to play better if we want a better outcome at the Defender’s Cup.”
The Defender’s Cup runs in a similar format as the World Cup, with four teams placed in a group, with the teams playing against each other to determine seeding in the main bracket. Hill will be tested early, as they landed in the same bracket as last year’s tournament winner, Joint Base San Diego.
“They will be a good test, but I think we’ll be competitive,” Swanson said. “We have new faces this year, a lot of new fresh blood that provides depth we have not had historically, and that will posture us well for success.”
Those interested in following Hill and all the team’s tournament highlights can visit https://www.facebook.com/groups/238280616576176/.