Island Coast JROTC Raiders win Florida State Championships

Three seasons ago the Island Coast High School JROTC Raiders program had only nine members and couldn’t even field a team, but under new leadership they’ve turned things around and are now state champions.

Five different challenges: from a 5K run to an obstacle course and everything in between, winning the Raider Competition is no easy feat.

“It was exhilarating, you know, just years and years of hard work, blood, sweat and tears, day in, day out,” Raider Cadet Commander Jay Adams said.

Adams remembers when the school’s JROTC program didn’t have enough members to field a team.

That was just two-years-ago.

“I saw it as a challenge and a chance to overcome adversity and with anything in life you never quit,” Cadet Adams said.

That no quit attitude paid off when Lt. Col. Mario Johnson took charge.

“We only had nine people at the time so we decided to put a lot of effort into bringing the program up,” Lt. Col. Johnson said.

That nine turned into 40 and now the Island Coast JROTC Raiders are the envy of the state.

“It brought me to tears sitting there thinking about everything,” Raider Team Captain Cadet Shawn Adams said. “The first five months of this past year starting in the summer came to an end with the biggest championship we could possibly imagine.”

Cadets Adams, Williams and Battalion Commander Bertin Veneces Aguilar give the credit to Lt. Col. Johnson.

“Wow words can’t even explain what he has done,” Cadet Veneces Aguilar said. “We have completely done a 180 turn. We have a very strong group of young people that’s going to surely continue this legacy.’

These three Cadets will be graduating in the spring, but before graduation day they’ll help out the next generation of Raiders at spring training.

They told me their message to them is to always work hard.

After graduating Cadets Adams and Williams will join the United States Army and Cadet Vences Aguilar plans to go to college on a ROTC scholarship.