The Latinos Stand Up Soccer Tournament took place on February 28. The six teams played in hopes of at least making it to the final three.

“We had an even number of teams, so everyone played six games. We had three games happening at the same time. It was a lot of fun; it goes by really fast,” said LSU sponsor Martin Rocha. 

There was not a huge turnout this year compared to previous years, but the players still had a fun time. 

“The tournament went good like every other year. There weren’t as many teams as I hoped there would’ve been, but even with the teams there, it was fun and competitive,” said senior Omar Cordova. 

North encourages all students to participate in the tournament, not exclusively soccer players. The tournament is more about having fun and getting competitive than winning. 

“I think that kids forget. I mean I always announce it in my classes about whoever wants to be in it, but I always tell them that you don’t have to be a soccer player to play. But at the same time, kids think in their heads that they have to be soccer players to play, but no. You don’t have to be a soccer player to participate,” Rocha said. 

Not only do students have fun playing in the tournament, but they get the chance to give back to the school and LSU. 

“It’s a fun way to compete with your friends and get together to play soccer if you really enjoy soccer. It also helps support the school and LSU, so that’s a positive as well as you get to play soccer and give back to LSU,” Cordova said. 

The tournament could be used as a fun way for students to take a break from schoolwork and other responsibilities and have fun no matter if they win or lose. 

“I think it’s important, not just to me but to whoever wants to be in it because everybody gets the chance to play, to have fun, to enjoy themselves. Not only that but the fact that everyone gets so competitive because the top three teams are the ones that get the prizes,”  Rocha said.