by Jason Vieira
Mr Vieira is an AP History teacher and Varsity Women’s Soccer Coach.
When we met in the fall of 2016 you were Ten nervous freshmen and I was a soccer coach uneasy about the future of our team. Redwood Girls Soccer was coming off back to back seasons that ended in devastation. Two years prior we had been eliminated in the playoffs as the #1 overall seed in the first round. The following year we made it to the Valley Championship game only to lose 1-0. Redwood was a soccer program that appeared to have peaked and I was a coach wondering if my message was lost and the program itself needed a change at the top. Then, that fall, the Ten of you walked on to campus and forever changed the culture of this program and my career as a teacher and a coach…
Over the past four years, the Ten of you have taught me more about myself than I can possibly convey into words. I cannot thank you enough for your hard work and dedication and for all I learned from you…
You taught me to trust in youth…that a champion isn’t made by age or experience but by the level of commitment they’re willing to dedicate in order to become great…
You taught me to listen…in the past four years you showed me that an outside perspective or different way of looking at an old problem can lead to a solution that can change the course of an entire season…
You taught me to enjoy all the moments…you’ve shown me that no matter if it’s a freezing cold 5am or a bus ride to the middle of nowhere, if we’re surrounded by great people it’s sure to be a great time…
You taught me how to teach, how to coach, and how to care…there is no greater gift we can give someone than our time, and the time I’ve spent with the Ten of you over the past four years is the greatest gift a teacher or coach could ask for…
So thank you girls for everything…thank you Angel for always being willing to play wherever we needed you to if it meant the team would get better…thank you Lesley for making me smile and helping me crack a laugh even in the most unnerving moments…thank you Alondra for caring deeply about our team and blessing us with a golden left foot…thank you Gabby for never settling and continuing to work to be the best teammate you could be…thank you Mar for overcoming every challenge life has thrown your way and still giving our team a place in your life…thank you Evan for being the most selfless and classiest superstar this school has ever seen…thank you Payton for being our enforcer and always having your teammates backs…thank you Savanna for never giving up on us and sacrificing so much for our team…thank you Ashley for being fearless and resilient and for not giving up on me your freshman year…and thank you Trav, you’re the leader this group deserves and we wouldn’t be the program or school we are without your voice. Thank you all for everything you’ve given to this program. You have left your mark on Redwood High School and it has been an honor to be your coach.
Sincerely,
V.
