By Vincent Aldridge
Girls varsity soccer head coach Jason Vieira has been coaching girls soccer since the 2011-2012 season. He says that Paityn Bruce, ’24 is very passionate about her sport, and puts a lot of effort into her craft. He says, “She is a max effort type of athlete who is consistently pushing her teammates.”
Vieira is most excited about the tenacity that comes with her game. He says, “She’s just tenacious. Paityn is kind of a pest for defenses.”
He adds, “As the game progresses, teams often just get frustrated with her and lose her or they cannot mark her any longer.”
Bruce brings more than just talented feet to varsity soccer. Vieira says, “I see a lot of leadership potential in her. [Bruce] is an alpha and is very aware of it.”
He adds, “She’s always yelling something to get the girls hyped up for the game and I love that as the coach.”
The season is almost over, and it is clear that Bruce has had a major impact on her team. During this season, she has scored 18 goals, and is on pace for an impressive 28 goals to finish out the season.
Bruce has played on many different teams over the years. She has been playing soccer since she was three years of age. She’s played on recreational teams, Odyssey South club for two years, and Clovis Crossfire club for five years. And now she’s playing for Redwood.
She’s got potential to earn a lot of awards during her time here. Last year, she led the league in goals and was 2nd Team WYL.
Her goal for this season is to lead WYL in pounts, which are goals and assists combined. She would also like to make 1st Team WYL. She says that these are goals that she will keep in mind, but she mainly wants her team to be successful.
“Paityn has the potential to be one of the best players in the history of Redwood… There’s just a tremendous amount of talent in the 2024 class and I’m thrilled I get to coach them.”
Coach Vieira
Bruce feels that her parents are the biggest reason for her success in her career. Bruce says, “[My parents] have done everything for me and gave me every opportunity to succeed.”
She adds, “They are my biggest supporters and will always push me to do my best.”
Bruce wants to do more than just fill up the stat sheet. She says, “This season, I’m excited to grow bonds with each of the girls. We have a great team and I love and care about each of these girls so much.”
She’s very excited about being one of the first vice captains in the program’s history.
Bruce says, “I’m very grateful to be given this opportunity and it makes me work even harder.”
It is assumed that the role of vice captain requires a ton of responsibility, and Bruce makes that clear by saying, “I feel that my job of vice captain is very important because it’s my job to get the team ready for games and really push everyone to be the best they can be.”
Clearly, whatever she’s doing is working, because the team is in a position to make the playoffs yet again.
Redwood benefits greatly having Bruce on their team. She says, “I’ve always looked up to all the girls that have played and I wanted to be a part of that, too.”
Bruce and the team take on Mt. Whitney in the bowl at 6pm February 10 for their last WYL match.
Tags: girls soccer, humans of redwood, paityn bruce, redwood athletics, rhs soccer, soccer