Strong community support shown for Newport Heights, Brock McCann at Pilot Cup
The Daily Pilot Cup completed its 17th year on Sunday in Costa Mesa. The huge youth soccer tournament is locked in as an annual weeklong community event that brings so many friends and families together from Newport Beach and Costa Mesa.
The strength and love of the community was shown throughout the week with regard to Newport Heights Elementary School. That’s the school where the late 8-year-old boy Brock McCann attended. McCann’s family and friends have remained in mourning after McCann was killed after being struck by a trash truck as he rode his bike home from school on May 27.
Newport Heights entered 150 players spread across teams in various divisions of the Pilot Cup. They all wore the same darker shade of blue T-shirts. They all had a badge of “B” imprinted on the sleeve. That was courtesy of Hosane Zama of Zama Sports. His company did the printing within 24 hours, free of charge to help unite the Newport Heights players.
They were motivated to perform at their highest level. The Newport Heights girls’ third- and fourth graders played with heavy hearts on Saturday after McCann’s memorial service.
Hours after the memorial, they played to a shootout against Harbor View in a Gold Division game for the right to advance to the quarterfinals.
Newport Heights won the shootout, 2-0. This was the only team for Newport Heights that reached the quarterfinals, said Coach Eric Beach, who was also the Newport Heights’ director of coaches for the Pilot Cup.
“I think it was a tribute to our entire community in that we had a very tough two weeks,” Beach said. “The entire community really came together and it was no different for our team which is why it was an emotional moment for everyone involved. I was proud of our parents and teachers, but mostly our students.”
The Newport Heights boys’ third- and fourth-grade Gold Division team experienced support from its opponent Carden Hall on Saturday. Both teams agreed to start the game one hour earlier so many of the children and the families could attend McCann’s memorial.
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Twitter: @SteveVirgen
