It was a morning of celebration at Tanner High School as the Tanner High School Boys Soccer team received their 1A-3A state championship rings from their championship season in the spring. Supporters gathered in the school gymnasium to mark the occasion. One of the attendees was Limestone County Schools Superintendent Dr. Randy Shearouse.

“I’ve been superintendent for a long time, and very few state championships come through. These are remarkable accomplishments, and I think about the journey that the team made throughout the year. It wasn’t always easy, I’m sure, but it teaches them life lessons and I think it also brings about pride for Limestone County so that other teams will aspire to be state champions as well,” said Shearouse.

For newly hired Tanner High School Principal Maurice Shingleton, it was a special introduction to the Tanner High School community.

“It’s awesome. I’ve lived in the area since 2008. I’ve always heard about Tanner. I’ve always heard about Limestone County Schools, but when Tanner was winning the football championships with coach LaRon White, I knew it was a little different over there,” said Shingleton. “I’ve been at Sheffield for two years, but I have come back to the area and I can’t imagine being in a better place. I love the community and they have accepted me so much. I’m looking forward to more championships in the future.”

Coach Matt Smith, who has coached Tanner High School Boys Soccer for a decade, shared about his own playing days and the lessons he learned from Coach LaRon White and he has implemented with his own players.

“I played here at Tanner. I played under Coach White, and seeing his preparation going into practice every day, I knew we were going to be successful because he didn’t leave any small detail. There was no such thing as a small detail to him, so I treated it the same way going into my practices, there’s no detail too small for us to talk about,” said Smith.

In the long term, Coach Smith has goals for his players beyond the sport.

“We want to make a state championship out to be this great thing, and it is. It’s great, but at the end of the day, if these guys grow up to be great fathers, great husbands and the great Christian men that can lead their house, that means more to me than any state championship,” said Smith.