No player in the Sedona Red Rock High School soccer program scored more than Luis Beltran during the 2020 fall season. On Wednesday, Jan. 20, Beltran’s achievement was officially recognized.
With his coach Sam Blom and many teammates around him, Beltran was presented with the school’s Golden Boot Award, which is given annually to the top scorer — boy or girl — in the SRRHS program.
“I want to thank my coach and the players around me for passing me the ball and just being a team, in general,” Beltran said. “It feels nice, honestly. I didn’t think I would do it, but it happened. I’m proud of myself for scoring.”
Beltran finished the year with 16 goals and a pair of assists. That put him ahead of junior teammate Kevin Beltran, who had 13 goals and two assists on the season.
Luis Beltran was named as an All-Region First Team forward in the 2A Central Region and All-Conference Second Team forward for the entire 2A Conference.
“[Luis Beltran] is just gifted and his speed — he’s one of the fastest players on the team, too,” Blom added. He and Korbin [Burke] have great speed.”
The Golden Boot Trophy was first awarded following the 2018-19 winter season and was won by then-senior Clark Borjon. Due to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, it was not awarded following the 2019-20 season.
The idea for the trophy came from Jake Weber, who also purchased it. He thought the trophy would be a good way to not only honor the top performer in the program but also to help encourage students — especially younger ones — to play. Weber is the grandfather of two student athletes in the SRRHS soccer program, Jaiah Grondin, a senior on the boys team, and Jillian Grondin, a sophomore on the girls team.
While this is the first time that Beltran will have his name on the trophy, it may not be the last. Beltran, who is only a freshman, can potentially see his name on the trophy three more times before he graduates in 2024.
Beltran’s size doesn’t make him a player that garners a lot of attention on sight alone. But once the team’s practices got underway, it did not take Blom long to realize that Beltran was a player who could do good things as soon as the season began.
“I saw it from the first time he practiced with us,” the coach said. “The very first practice, I said, ‘I found a starter.’ I was just dumbfounded at how quick he was on the field and how he was able to maneuver around kids that are taller than him. I knew right away that we had a special player.”
