Athletes get many kudos in life.
The spotlight is on them from an early age. Some excel through high school. Some go on to star in college. A few make it to the pros.
But, there are many facets to being an athlete.
A Texas newspaper, The Victoria Advocate (www.victoriaadvocate.com), wanted to highlight student athletes, and for the 2018-2019 school year created an event and program called the Varsity Cup. The city of Victoria is located on the coastal plains of Texas about 50 mi from the Gulf of Mexico and is a two-hour drive from Corpus Christi, Houston, San Antonio, and Austin, and therefore known as the Crossroads area of Texas.
The Varsity Cup was designed to honor the best student athletes in the Crossroads. These kids excel not only at sports but also must maintain a 3.0 GPA and excel in volunteerism and extracurricular activities.
The initial crop of nominees were outstanding student athletes – smart, bright, and eager to serve their communities.
They helped rebuild their communities after Hurricane Harvey, fed the homeless, counseled youth groups, mentored elementary students, served Thanksgiving meals, worked at women’s crisis centers and helped the elderly. They were active in their churches and did many other non-athletic school activities, such as National Honor Society and 4-H.
Their list of accomplishments was mind-boggling.
For the first Varsity Cup, about 600 students and parents attended the awards event.
The principal sponsor of the Varsity Cup is American Shield Roofing and Construction (https://americanshieldroofing.com/) and on this episode of SwimTalk A2B, we interview Jon Lamson, VP of Sales for American Home Shield.

Some editorial material courtesy of The Victoria Advocate.
MUSIC CREDITS
River Valley Breakdown by Kevin MacLeod
Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4295-river-valley-breakdown
License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Corncob by Kevin MacLeod
Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3554-corncob
License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/