By: Sydney Brammer
As most know, Redwood’s soccer program is one of the best around. Because we’re the best, getting updates from both teams every once in a while is necessary since things are always changing and improving.
The head Varsity girls soccer coach, Mr. Viera is very confident this year with his team. So far this year the girls have been doing really well. They had a loss early in their preseason, but since then they’ve stepped up their game. They have beat every one of their opponents by at least one point and have been pretty successful thus far. Viera’s goals for the season has not changed since the first season he’s been coach here at Redwood. He plans on first, winning WYL then winning Valley Championship. To accomplish these goals, Viera says that tournaments are used to see who is strong in what position so when league comes the team is strong everywhere on the field. He says, “We need to stay focus, work hard, and if something doesn’t go our way we can’t dwell on it, we need to learn from it and keep growing.”
One of the stand-out players Coach Viera mentioned was senior, Savanna Saesee. Saesee says “The season is going great so far and everyday we find ways to improve in order to play our best in every game.” One thing Saesee thinks the team needs to improve on is communicating on and off the field in order to have good chemistry. The team is strong in creating opportunities to score goals and their defense and goalies are doing well shutting out the other team’s offense. To prepare for a game, Saesee mentally prepares herself by focusing on what she can do to help the team succeed. She also thinks about her previous games and focuses on what she can improve on and fix in the upcoming game. Some of her personal goals are to become more vocal and be more consistent throughout every game.
However, the Varsity boys aren’t doing as well, sadly. “The season is progressing a bit behind schedule, with the football team’s success, and our club players competing through the Thanksgiving break, we did not have our full squad until after games had started.” says the head Varsity boys soccer coach, Wes. The team is now dealing with a couple injuries, but they are staying as focused as they can to regain full strength for the WYL season. Coach Wes’ goal for the season is to create the best opportunity for each of the players to win and reach their own goals. To accomplish this, he wants more communication on and off the field regarding what they are doing well and what they need to improve on. He is still waiting on a player to step up and take that leadership role leading the team to focus in a game and practice and be someone for the boys to look up to.
One of the stand-out players Coach Wes mentioned was sophomore, Ernesto Pacheco. Some things Pacheco has to say about the season so far is, “we committed to a few mistakes that led to a loss and a tie, but other than that the team is getting along great and we are learning from our mistakes as we move along.” Pacheco says the work ethic needs to be improved and winning every ball and mastering the little techniques needs to be a priority. To prepare for a game, Pacheco “eats light food, hydrates, and listens to some music to get my head in the right mindset.” His personal goals for the season are to “score a lot of goals, assist, and do well with my team.” The overall goal for the whole team is of course to win WYL and the Valley Championship, just like the girls.
Overall, both girls and boys varsity soccer is doing pretty well for the kickoff to league. There are some improvements to be made, but the coaches’ goals seem to be very similar and are very confident on achieving them. Next home games are girls: Tuesday, the 17th at 6 in the bowl vs Bullard and boys: Thursday, January 9th in the bowl at 6:30 vs Golden West.
Sydney Brammer
Sydney Brammer, '22 is currently in her fourth year writing for the Redwood Gigantea. She has a strong passion for featuring the humans of Redwood, and enjoys putting the spotlight on the underdog. She has written for the Visalia Times Delta and Sungazette Sports. You can reach her by email at sydneybr17@gmail.com.
