Jacks soccer hosts 2026 alumni game

QUINCY — The Quincy Jackrabbits held their 2026 alumni game July 10 when former Quincy soccer players returned to the field to face off against the current high school roster. Hector Vaca, the high school’s boys' head soccer coach, said he was very happy with the turnout for the event. 

“I think it was actually a really successful event for us,” said Vaca. “It was really cool to see a lot of different alumni from various years.” 

Alumni attending the event extended back to players from the class of 2001 and included soccer state champions, he said.  

“Initially, I didn’t know what the turnout was going to be, but it ended up being really good, really fun. I think it was a good event for the community,” said Vaca. 

Vaca said he was inspired to put together the alumni game after attending one at his own high school, Eisenhower. He had always enjoyed the yearly opportunity to head back onto the field with former teammates, talk about high school memories, catch up on life and face the current team and wanted to bring that same atmosphere to Quincy. 

“I thought it would be something cool, especially with soccer being so big here in the community,” he said. 

For the game itself Vaca said they brought in a referee and played in a typical format, but everyone kept in mind the aspect of having fun.  

The group also took a moment of silence during the day’s events to pay respect to former Quincy Head Coach Tom Turner, who was instrumental in starting and developing the Quincy soccer program into what it is today.  

“He was kind of that guy a lot of the soccer players leaned on,” said Vaca. “He was always keeping them in check. Just a positive role model for some of these guys in the early stages of the program.” 

Turner’s legacy was kept alive through this year’s alumni game as his former players returned to the field and bonded with current Jacks soccer players. During this game the alumni shared their own experiences and provided insights for the young athletes who might be following similar career paths that they took after high school, said Vaca. 

This will help motivate the student athletes to keep working toward their goals of becoming better students and athletes, he said. As the high schoolers continue to have this experience each year, Vaca hopes that when they graduate, they can bring these lessons back for the next group. 

“Overall, we embody community; that’s one of our main principles at the school district,” said Vaca. “I think that really resembles that and is just something really cool to see.” 

Vaca said he already begun planning for how future events will run and how they can be even better. Next year, he wants to incorporate a designated time for everyone to sit down and have a potluck style dinner where people can connect and network. 

The experiences and bonding between players from all age groups is something that he said is invaluable to the growth of the community and is excited to see it grow in the future. 

“It was really nice to see something like this and the amount of people that came out,” said Vaca. “The alumni, huge thanks to them for coming out and supporting the event and hopefully we can make it a little bigger next year and see more alumni.”