Bishop Moore freshman Cooper Ball is Sentinel boys soccer Player of the Year
Boys soccer coach Tom Hage knew he had something special when Cooper Ball first hit the practice pitch at Bishop Moore at the beginning of the 2025-26 season. “Honestly, from Day 1 … and I don’t know if it’s just because he’s a bigger kid or more mature than his 14 or 15 years old … but the stage was never too big for him,” Hage said of Ball, who has been selected as the Sentinel’s boys soccer Player of the Year. “He’s such a likable kid and not a cocky kid.
He may be goofy, but every kid is goofy at that age. But when it came to soccer, it was business all day, every day. He set the bar very high.
“Obviously we were rewarded with a phenomenal first-year player joining the program. ” Ball is definitely special and took a leadership role, helping lead the Hornets to the Class 4A state championship That’s storybook quality, but it’s no fairy tale. Hage, head coach at Bishop Moore for 19 seasons said he doesn’t remember having a player step on campus and dominate the way Ball did as a ninth grader.
“It was very early we realized and I want to say he scored the first goal of the season,” Hage said. “It just kept going and going, his success on the field and his work ethic. ” He definitely stands out on the pitch.
He’s 6 feet 2, 195 pounds of passion and enthusiasm, and is constantly in the vicinity of the ball. His ability to handle the ball makes him seem like a veteran, and his soccer IQ is off the charts. Ball scored a team-high 15 goals.
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