A preview of GHS girls soccer as they rebound from a rough
season
The Gilroy High girls’ soccer team shouldn’t have a whole lot of trouble matching last year’s win total – especially after Tuesday’s season-opening 3-0 win at Prospect.
“Hey, we’re already halfway there,” head coach Jose Hernandez said with a laugh.
Yes, Gilroy won just two games last season. Yes, it went winless in TCAL play.
The Mustangs did have a first-time head coach learning on the job, though. They did have five freshmen in the starting lineup. They did have only three players with club experience.
“It wasn’t hard to see it coming,” Hernandez said.
Nevertheless, when loss after loss begins to pile up, it’s “very frustrating,” said senior forward Alysha Davis, who scored a pair of goals in the 2004 opener.
“It was difficult,” she added. “Everyone knew we just weren’t that good.”
One of the major problems, Hernandez said, was the team’s lack of conditioning during practice time. The focus was mainly on skill development and understanding the game, and the group simply didn’t have the speed or endurance to keep up with most teams.
“Part of it was my inexperience,” said Hernandez, who was named coach just two weeks before last season. “We had a misguided focus.”
So the coach spent much of the offseason reading, preparing and studying everything he could about the sport – specifically focusing on the University of North Carolina, winners of 17 national titles and a program Hernandez said he’s trying to emulate.
“I’ve been doing my homework,” he said. “I want to win … whatever it takes.”
He’s already incorporated much of the Tar Heels’ philosophy, including more competitive practices and switching from a 4-4-2 formation to a 3-4-3.
Of course, the latter takes speed and endurance. And of course, speed and endurance aren’t just created during games.
“So conditioning is built into everything we do,” Hernandez said.
Now the Mustangs run – they run everyday. Instead of occasionally jogging around the field, the entire team now has to sprint the length of the field in 20 seconds or less … 10 times.
Does the grueling work ever make the players resentful of their coach and his new philosophy?
“No, not at all,” sophomore defender Nubia Diaz de Leon said. “By doing it, we know we’re getting better. It’s a good challenge for us.”
Of course, much of the optimism surrounding this season comes simply from an upgrade in talent. Three juniors – defenders Kendra Sato and Nicole Hovey and forward Brittany Barnes – transferred from Presentation High and are likely to start once they are cleared.
In addition, freshman goalie Sarah Hugo has impressed early, junior Joann Olivo-Pedroza returns after a year of ineligibility and junior Natalie Escalera arrives via Modesto.
All three are projected to start, along with five returnees: Diaz de Leon, Davis and midfielders Amanda Bruce, Luz Cortes and Erin Sterner.
It also doesn’t hurt that Gilroy has eight players who played on club teams this summer – a significant increase over last season.
“It’s different this year because there’s more girls with more skills,” Diaz de Leon said. “And we’ve got way more experience.”
After the season-opening shutout in Saratoga, they’ve also got a good experience to build upon, too.
“We passed well, we communicated on the field … I was impressed,” Davis said. “It was actually fun.”
Winning usually is.
