New freshman volleyball coach: Anna Aguilar

As the new school year begins, so does some of our sports’ teams coaching.

With the complications of last year’s restrictions and lack of sports, there have been many changes in coaching here on Redwood’s campus.

One new coach who was brought to the table this year was the new freshman volleyball coach, Ms. Anna Aguilar.

Aguilar is a determined person who is pushing her team to do their best in hopes to guide them to victory this season.

Before Aguilar began coaching at Redwood, she played volleyball as a teenager.

During her teenage years, she played at Exeter High School, where she attended all four years. After those high school years came to a close, she continued participating in volleyball through intramural programs in the area.

With her playing experience, this led to Aguilar’s first time coaching for a high school program. She had previously coached for the city, and had been waiting for a coaching opportunity like this one to arise.

Becoming a Ranger has been something she has enjoyed so far.

After being asked how it feels to be a coach, Aguilar said, “It feels great. I’ve really enjoyed getting to know all the girls.” She has kept a positive attitude, especially with the circumstances of COVID.

Although students have been able to go back to school, there have been many complications with teams due to the exposure of COVID. When asked how the season is going so far, Aguilar explained, “It’s been great, aside from that little hiccup [quarantine].”

Aguilar continues to keep a positive outlook, and believes that this is going to be a good season for her team. Luckily, COVID has steered clear of her, as well as her family, and she has never contracted the virus in the time that it’s been here.

Here at Redwood, the staff is doing their best to mandate, and stay within the restrictions COVID has recently challenged schools with. It has affected all of the sports programs here, and is an ongoing problem for all of the teams.

Although it’s been a struggle for the freshman volleyball team, Aguilar said that her team have all adapted well, and are making the most of the situation. COVID had previously affected the turnout of their games.

Aguilar expressed that she is thankful that there’s going to be people cheering them on this year, this was something that coaches were unsure about in the beginning, so it’s exciting knowing that there will be fans in the audience.

Taking on this coaching job has been a great opportunity for Aguilar to take hold of. She has an immense amount of love for the sport.

She goes on to say that her favorite part about volleyball and coaching is the structure and discipline. Along with this, she gets to watch, and teach these girls to work hard and be determined.

“It goes beyond just a court,” says Aguilar.

Aguilar has a family who has supported her through her entire journey, “I have an older brother who is married with two kids in San Diego, and I have a younger sister who is married with one kid who lives in Texas. Both are proud of my teaching career, as well as my new role as a coach,” she says.

Coaching for such a competitive team can be difficult and takes a lot of motivation as well as time. This is an achievement Aguilar is very proud of, and a trait she has shown throughout her career.

Aguilar states that the motivation and inspiration for her hard-working mindset are her parents, “My dad was a correctional officer and worked long hours, but never complained, and he always made it a priority to make it to as many of my sporting events as he could. My mom worked hard as the director of a day care in Exeter and got her Master’s in education at the same time.”

Aguilar admires and looks up to her parents work ethic, and it is something that inspires her to continue throughout her own life.

Aguilar describes herself as someone who is kind, generous, and someone who has been told multiple times that she carries a “sense of peace.”

She is someone who enjoy nature, her family, and is an extremely determined person, overall.

Outside of teaching and coaching, Aguilar likes to enjoy nature and typically hikes. She says, “You can find me in the mountains, specifically the Sequoias.” She addresses the current conditions of the Sequoias, and how she is “bummed,” especially since she loves to participate in hiking and backpacking.

Where she got her love for nature may have been through her past careers and experiences, “Prior to teaching, I worked at Scicon, Nature Bridge in Yosemite, Camp Cuyamaca in San Diego, and at Crystal Cave in the Sequoias as a guide.”

She has a huge interest and love for both teaching and nature. She claims that before being given the opportunity at Scicon, she was a shy girl. However, despite this, she has managed to come out of her shell and doing those jobs has helped her “gain confidence,” in herself and her abilities, Aguilar explains.

Before becoming a teacher, those previous jobs helped her figure out that was something she wanted to do.

Those experiences helped her to become more confident and verbal, as well as giving her a sense of leadership and taking charge. This inspired her to get her teaching credentials.

Aguilar earned her Bachelor’s Degree in psychology while attending Chico State, later on she went through the Tulare County Office of Education to get her teaching credentials.

The freshman girls play next on October 21 at 4:30 pm at Ridgeview Middle School.