TUCSON, Arizona — When Arizona football fans last saw Tra’Mayne Bondurant on the field, he was patrolling the secondary as the Wildcats’ starting safety, picking off passes and helping lead the program to back-to-back bowl victories more than a decade ago.
“It was just so much fun, a great experience,” Bondurant remembers of his playing days in Tucson. Fast-forward to today, and the Bay Area native is now wearing a whistle on the sidelines — this time at Doris J. Thompson Park as the head coach of the Tucson Soldiers 10-and-under squad.
Tragedy brought Bondurant here permanently. In Vallejo, California, his cousin Omarion Bondurant was murdered. The loss made Tra’Mayne rethink everything.
“I just wanted to make sure my son grew up in a community that was safe for him,” he says.That son is Tra’Mayne Bondurant Jr. — better known as “Junior” — who now lines up under center as the Soldiers’ quarterback.“My dad was like, ‘Do you want to play quarterback?’ and I was like, ‘I want to try it out,’” Junior explains. “All the work I’ve been putting in since I became a quarterback… it’s paying off.”
His father watches with a mix of pride and cautious optimism.“Obviously when you were an athlete and played at a high level, you want your kid to do well,” Bondurant says, “but you never know until you see him play.”
Junior has done more than hold his own. He’s helped lead the Soldiers to the Tucson city championship and, thanks in part to a forfeit by an opponent, a regional title.But Junior isn’t the only Wildcat legacy on this roster. Running back Emius Carey is the nephew of Ka’Deem Carey — Arizona’s all-time leading rusher and one of the most electric players in program history. Watch Emius run, and the family resemblance is unmistakable.
“If you watch him run, he really runs and plays like his uncle,” Coach Bondurant says with a grin.Emius agrees: “The best thing about running back is you can juke people, and it’s kind of like me being my uncle.”With the regional crown secured, the Tucson Soldiers 10U team is Orlando-bound. In early December, they’ll compete in the American Youth Football Federation national championships. Bondurant knows his team isn’t getting much national attention heading into the tournament.
“I feel like we’re the underdog right now,” he says. “That’s the message — shock the world. Let them sleep on us or think we’re not good. But I think we’ve got the right group.”From intercepting passes in Arizona Stadium to coaching his own son and the nephew of a Wildcat legend on a practice field in Tucson, Tra’Mayne Bondurant has come full circle.And now, a new generation of Tucson kids — carrying some very familiar names — is ready to make some noise on a national stage.
To donate for their trip: https://donorbox.org/tucson-soldiers
