Freshman Jayme Gomez instills promising potential for the varsity soccer season

By Donya Hassanshahi

Tuesday January 4, Jayme Gomez, ’25 made her debut as the only freshman on the girls varsity soccer team at their game against Clovis West taking place at the Mineral King Bowl, ultimately scoring the winning goal.

On the field Gomez plays as a forward. At the beginning of the season, Gomez was out due to an injury, though being back out on the field again felt rewarding. While playing her first game as a part of the Redwood varsity team, “scoring the winning goal against Clovis West felt unreal. It was so exciting to be able to help my team come out with the win after a hard fought game.”

Varsity coach Jason Vieira explained what an incredible moment it was to experience spectating as the coach and for the girls playing alongside Gomez, “It was such a big goal for our team and seeing everyone mob Jayme after she scored and we won is a memory I’m sure she’ll have forever.”

Though her injury during the first half of the season prevented her from playing, Vieira expresses what a great edition she is to the team.

“Jayme is just a great kid. She works hard in training and is very coachable. Jayme really is the type of student you want to coach.  She gets the team concept we preach at Redwood and does her part to help us win.“

Varsity girls coach Jason Vieira speaking about Jayme Gomez, ’25 as a player and person

As Gomez is only in her freshman year of high school, the question of her being a potential player for the following three years is interesting from the coach’s perspective.

Vieira implicates how grateful he is for Gomez to be a part of the team and his excitement to see her growth come the next few years, “I really believe Jayme can be one of the greats to play for Redwood girls soccer and we’ve had some really amazing players. She has that type of attitude and skill that can stay special as she develops more confidence.”

With Gomez being the youngest on varsity, Vieira puts into perspective the relationship that the girls and Gomez share both on and outside the field, “Jayme has really become like the little sister for some of the older girls,” he states.

Captain Elise Hyde, ’22 plays alongside Gomez as the outside defender and holding midfielder on the field.

During the Clovis West game, Hyde was on the field when the goal was scored. As a teammate, the shot being made in the final two minutes was relieving. “She [Jayme] made a big play when it was needed to not go overtime,” Hyde says.

From the perspective as captain, Hyde was proud of Gomez’s “confident and courageous” attitude while heading the ball into the goal.

In terms of varsity level skills, Hyde emphasizes that what Gomez did truly displays the qualities and skills that it takes to be a part of varsity.

Though, Hyde is more than a teammate and captain when it comes to fellow players on the team. When the score was shown as 1-0, Hyde was celebratory of her friend almost immediately.

She exclaims, “I raised my hands and jumped on top of her screaming, ‘You’re amazing, Jayme!’ because I knew personally she really wanted a goal.”

Upon Gomez’s arrival, Hyde was, and is, beyond excited for what the season will be with her involvment.

During practices and game settings, Hyde acknowledges Gomez’s work ethic in a positive light, “She is always focused and determined in each drill at practice and in every play during the game. Jayme brings a finesse to the team because her ball skill inspires other players to play their best as they shine with their own personal strengths,” Hyde states.

“She is an amazing team and individual player. Her humbleness and kind personality speaks volumes about the type of player and person she is.”

Varsity captain Elise Hyde, ’22

Gomez inspires her teammates, and Hyde takes into account how much she is encouraged by Gomez, “Jayme inspires me to be a humble, hardworking player, and to have confidence in big situations.”

When the cut list for the official team was sent, Gomez was, “proud and excited to be a part of such a great team” considering this being her first soccer season at Redwood.

Outside of Redwood, Gomez plays on the Clovis Crossfire club team. Current teammates of Redwood also play club alongside her. Leah See, ’24, Ellie Gilbert, ’24, Paityn Bruce, ’24, Alyssa Hernandez, ’24, and Olivia Saenz, ’23 are involved with the same club as Gomez. Since their ages differ, the girls play on different teams in the program.

With the involvement of teammates from her club team, being able to finally experience playing with them on the Redwood team, “feels good to finally get to play with those girls on the same team because they’re all so talented and they push me to be better,” Gomez expresses.

Since a young age, Gomez has been involved with soccer. The moment she knew that soccer was the sport for her was when she realized she had the skills and potential to compete.

“It started as just an extracurricular activity but turned into a game [she] loves,” Gomez emphasizes. Now, she hopes to continue her passion in soccer during college.

Though, the root of her inspiration is derived from her team and teammates.

“My team inspires me to have confidence in myself and motivates me to do my best.”

Gomez, ’25 in regards to her inspiration for the sport

To watch Gomez and the rest of the Redwood girls’ varsity soccer team, their next home games takes place on Wednesday, January 19 against Hanford and Friday, the 21 against El Diamante at the Mineral King Bowl at 6:00pm.

Tags: Donya Hassanshahi, features, Freshman, humans of redwood, Jayme Gomez, rangers, redwood gigantea, redwood high school, redwood journalism, redwood rangers, redwood sports, varsity, varsity girls soccer