Winter season might’ve brought chilly weather to the field, but it didn’t stop West High’s Boys’ Varsity Soccer team from playing their hardest against the Inglewood High Sentinels. Their efforts weren’t fruitless — the team swept their competition with a 7-0 victory, proving that the cold weather would prove no deterrent to the soccer team’s determination to win. 

   Though it isn’t uncommon for athletes to feel apprehensive before the start of a game, goalkeeper Isaac Sanles (11) was“feeling pretty confident,” especially as “Inglewood didn’t show up until ten minutes before the game was supposed to start.” Similarly, midfielder Kihei Tran (10) thought that the team “was a lot more relaxed when we played against Inglewood,” as “the level of intensity was lower.” 

   Despite the rather lax amount of pressure before and during the game, both players recounted that struggles with anxiety beforehand were only natural. Sanles also expressed that his position on the team carried additional pressure to prevent mistakes. “Since I’m a goalkeeper, one mistake can turn the game around real quick,” he admitted. However, Sanles liked to think that the team grew closer by bonding through the mutual challenge of playing their best — both on and off the practice field. “We have practice every Monday through Friday of the week, and usually we have a little practice for an hour prior to the game,” he explained. Sanles also described the team’s pre-game tradition: “Right before it starts, we huddle up in a circle and say a little prayer for the match — to play well and to hopefully avoid any injuries.” 

   For many athletes across campus, goal-setting is a constant challenge, and the Boys’ Soccer Team is no exception. “For this season, our goal would be to work better together as a team, especially because there’s always going to be new players moving up to new teams,” Sanles stated. In a sport as heavily reliant on communication as soccer, teamwork is crucial for both the personal success of players and the team. Tran also concurred with him: “I want to build our team chemistry — since a lot of our seniors left last year, it left a big hole in our team,” he admitted.

   For any type of athletics, dedication and tenacity to practice and games is a must-have to succeed; the need for a strong willpower is even more pronounced for an endurance-heavy sport such as soccer, where stamina and perseverance are necessities on the field. “We have practice every Monday through Friday of the week, and usually we have a little practice for an hour prior to the game,” Sanles explained. In light of their packed schedule, he believes that the most important quality in a good player is to “never give up on yourself.” Additionally, he described how having a strong mentality could make or break a player’s performance on the field: “You can’t let yourself get down over one mistake, because it’ll stick in your head for the entire game and bring down your plays.” 

   As West High’s Boys Soccer team kicks off their season, their drive for victory will bring them to new heights on the field.