Valley Christian has announced the return of Boys and Girls Swimming and the addition of the emerging sport of eSports to Trojan Athletics. The sports will be added for the 2019-20 school year.
Swimming will return to Valley Christian after a six-year absence from being offered athletically for student-athletes. The Trojans have won three state team championships – two girls (2008 and 2009) and one boys (2007) – and the boys finished as the state runner-up in 2008. Valley Christian alumna Natalie Denk ’15 will lead the Trojans’ swim program back into the pool in the fall of 2019.
Esports is considered an emerging sport and is being added by high schools and colleges as a varsity sport across the country. The team will compete in Legacy eSports powered by the High School eSports League under the banner of the Arizona Interscholastic Association (AIA). The 2019 teams will compete in the fall and are currently slated to compete in Overwatch and Super Smash Bros Ultimate. Jon Hunsaker, VCS Technology Specialist, has been tapped to lead the eSports program.
Valley Christian Athletic Director Greg Haagsma stated, “We’re excited to bring back swimming to our athletic program and offer students the ability to participate in the emerging sport of eSports next year. We’ve had exceptional interest in both programs and will look to continue to grow our athletic program to offer students more opportunities to excel and compete as our school continues its growth. We have two outstanding head coaches in Natalie Denk and Jon Hunsaker for the sports, and I am confident they will lead their programs with integrity and character while also developing our student-athletes to compete at a high level.”
With the additions of Swimming and eSports, the Trojans will now offer 19 varsity athletic teams at the high school level. Valley Christian competes in the 3A Conference of the AIA. The Trojans have won 69 team state championships since 1989. This includes an active streak of 29 consecutive years in which a Valley Christian team won a state championship. In addition, Trojan teams have finished as the state runner-up 34 times and have earned more than 140 region championships.