Last week, the Sparks High School boys varsity soccer team clinched the Northern Nevada Regional Championship title against Hug High School, and what makes this win so special is that it did so in the 5A division.
A Sparks High School alumni himself, Coach Jose (Chava) España says that when he was playing soccer in high school the divisions used to be set based on school size and there were four divisions when he was in his freshman year. Just before he got into high school, Sparks moved down to be more competitive. Then around 4-5 years ago, they created the 5A division but because of Sparks High School’s size the soccer players remained in 3A. In 2019, the NIAA (Nevada Interscholastic Activities Association) did a competitive balance analysis and allowed Sparks High to petition move up into the 5A division. This was a big move, petitioning to play against bigger schools, but Coach Chava felt they could handle it.
Kayla Anderson – The Sparks High School boys soccer team defeated Hug High last week to win the 5A regional soccer championship. The Railroaders will open the state tourney Friday against Coronado at Carson High.
“We’re the only true 3A school playing in that division,” Coach Chava says. “Other schools have at least 1100 kids or so in their student population; we don’t have that. At that NIAA meeting back in 2020, our record in the 3A was very telling. For instance, in 2005 we had won multiple regional championships,” he adds.
The soccer team played its first year in the 5A division in 2020, but unfortunately due to covid it was only a six-week season. They won the High Desert League in the 2020/2021 season, clinching the title in a Shootout against Galena. The team lost in the semi-finals in the 2021/2022 season against Reed, which Chava says was a big blow for the team.
“To not play in regionals or state…it was a good reminder to the team what it takes to not lose that [winning] feeling. It was good character building for them,” he says.
In the 2022/2023 soccer season, the team was second in lead but then lost to Hug High in the Regional Shootout. It was a state qualifier but lost in the state semifinals.
There are two sides in the NIAA 5A division, the High Desert League and the Sierra League. In the High Desert League where Sparks High is, they play against schools like Hug, Reed, and McQueen. Schools such as Carson, Minogue, Damonte, Galena, and Wooster are in the Sierra League. Smaller schools in the Truckee/Tahoe area as well as Lowry, Spring Creek, and West Wendover are in the 3A division, so Sparks High would have to travel further to compete against them.
As a Sparks High School alum, Coach Chava remembers winning the 3A division was he was a senior in 2005. Sparks High won again in 2010, state in 2011 and 2016, and the regional finals in 2012 and 2015-2017. The team won the 3A division in 2019 before moving up to 5A, and then clinched that division in 2020. Coach Chava has been coaching the Sparks High School boys’ soccer team since 2011, becoming head coach in 2016.
Playing since August, the varsity team is currently 22-0-2 (22 wins, zero losses, and two ties). There are 24 students on the roster and a few assistant coaches who help both the JV and varsity teams.
“I have an amazing coaching staff who allows me to split myself between matches since the JV and varsity teams play back-to-back,” he says.
Regarding last weekend’s 5A Northern Nevada Regional Championship win against Hug, Coach Chava says, “It was good. The amount of work, effort, and dedication the boys have put in has paid off. We have 13 seniors on the team this year and they will not give up. It’s like they’ve taken it personally, everything we’ve been through. This particular group has gone through a lot, dealing with losing the Penalty Shootout, the adversity we’ve faced…”
Coach Chava says the team couldn’t have made it this far without its support crew, past and present.
“I’d like to give a huge shout out to our coaching staff. Most of us are Sparks High School alumni and as a coach it’s nice to bounce between the JV and Varsity teams and have a great staff that I can rely on, depend on, to watch their progress,” he says. “Frank Avila laid the foundation and I’ve tried to adopt the philosophy he had when he was coaching me,” Coach Chava adds.
“But all the recognition goes to the boys. They’re working hard and to be one of four teams in the state championships is a huge accomplishment. I’d also like to give a huge shoutout to Hug High School. Coach Nico [Moreno] is a great coach- he coached me when I was in high school- and we have a great rivalry going. They had us against the rope pretty heavily [in the recent Northern Nevada Regional Championship].”
The Sparks High School soccer team will play again on Friday, November 10 at 2 p.m. against Coronado at Carson High School and Hug will play Las Vegas High School at 4 p.m..
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