Gilroy – As a junior at Gilroy High School, Alicia Reese was on
the junior varsity softball team. That was all.
Gilroy – As a junior at Gilroy High School, Alicia Reese was on the junior varsity softball team. That was all.
When softball season ends in May, Reese will probably be the only GHS senior girl to finish three varsity sports this year.
That may not sound like much. But when one follows where the 5-7 Reese came from, it has been an impressive journey.
A product of Catholic schools, Reese found herself at Gilroy High her sophomore year. She was like the proverbial deer in the headlights, bewildered and with no direction during 10th grade as she tried to find her place.
“I had a lot of growing up to do,” Reese admits now. “I had too much fun and didn’t focus on school. I dug myself a hole.”
To say Reese suffered from culture shock would be an understatement. After seven years at St. Mary Catholic Parish in Gilroy, her freshman year was at St. Francis in Watsonville, which at the time had a total enrollment of 300. At St. Francis, Reese played junior varsity volleyball.
Today, she’s a confident young woman with a plan. While others will go on to college to pursue academics and athletics, Reese says she will enlist in the Navy. When she turns 18 on July 5, Reese says she will sign the papers and go to Moffatt Field for her physical. Boot camp will follow and, Reese hopes, she will be involved in Search and Rescue.
She didn’t pursue three varsity sports with the idea it would keep her fit as she looked ahead to the Navy. Now, it’s a fringe benefit.
While others specialize in one or two sports, Reese is a generalist in every sense of the term athletically.
“She’s a heck of an athlete,” says field hockey co-coach Adam Gemar. “It’s amazing what she has accomplished this year.”
It was Gemar who was the first coach to affect Reese. Last summer she was in his athletic training class working to make up credits. Gemar suggested she try out for field hockey, knowing that she would be competing with other girls on the team had been at it for years.
And yet Reese, who had never played field hockey before, not only made the team but saw plenty of action.
Senior goalie Stephanie Glenn suggested Reese try out for the soccer team. Reese thought why not, and approached coach Jose Hernandez. Sure, Hernandez was happy that someone was interested in playing soccer. So he asked her what position she played. When Reese answered she had never played organized soccer before, Hernandez was unconvinced.
Reese not only made the team, she eventually wound up the starting goalie. That was despite missing a month of the season because of a heart murmur.
“She’s a wonderful young lady who works extra hard no matter what the challenge,” Hernandez says. “It was a pleasure coaching her. She gives everything she has and cares about the welfare of her teammates. My only regret is coaching her only one year.”
Softball was her favorite sport, one she has played since she was 7. Like the other sports, though, Reese started out on the bench. Instead of complaining, she worked hard and waited her chance. Coach Catherine Hallada used her as a pinch hitter early and saw that Reese was driving the ball almost every time at the plate. She inserted Reese into the outfield. Through 21 games, Reese was the team’s leading hitter for average at .462.
“She’s just a great athlete,” Hallada says. “I’m impressed with what she’s doing. She does what she needs to do in each sport.”
It starts with a willingness to do what needs to be done to improve.
“My feeling is I’m happy to be on the team,” says Reese, who could be talking about any of the three sports. “Sometimes, you just have to suck things up. If the coach sees you hustling, maybe she’ll give you a shot. What’s the point of pouting?”
It’s a refreshing outlook in a society where so many individuals are “me” instead of “we.” Reese is not one to seek the limelight. She is more than happy to be a role player, regardless of the sport.
That she became a key role player in three different varsity sports speaks volumes about her athleticism and attitude.
