Amanda Bruce and Jose
”
Tapon
”
Velasquez were selected as the Gilroy Dispatch Athletes of the
Year because they displayed exceptional level of play on the field
this season to guide their teams to story book seasons as well as
being good leaders on and off the field.
By Greg Chapman Staff Writer
Amanda Bruce and Jose “Tapon” Velasquez were selected as the Gilroy Dispatch Athletes of the Year because they displayed exceptional level of play on the field this season to guide their teams to story book seasons as well as being good leaders on and off the field.
Besides leading the team in scoring, both Bruce and Velasquez were captains of their teams in their junior and senior seasons.
Bruce was named Most Valuable Player in the Tri-County Athletic League. Prior to that, she was Most Valuable Midfielder during her junior and sophomore seasons. A student-athlete in every sense of the word with a 4.1 grade point average, Bruce will attend San Francisco State University on a partial athletic scholarship where she plans to study kinesiology.
Velasquez, a four-year varsity player at GHS, will continue his career at California State University-Stanislaus.
He led the team with 16 goals, which was the second most among the four South Bay leagues, and Bruce was tied with teammate Ariana Vera with 12 goals.
“He [Velasquez] is the kind of kid that is a leader on and off the field,” Brian Hall, Gilroy High co-head coach, said. “He leads by his work ethic.”
Hall said the team succeeded with a family orientated atmosphere this season and Velasquez was the big brother, which was critical because he knew what to do as a leader.
Velasquez said he learned from his first season as captain last year and tried to be more of a friend on and off the field this season.
Bruce experienced the lows during her GHS career, with a winless season in her freshmen year, as well as the highs, winning a Tri-County Athletic League championship in her senior year.
Head coach Jose Hernandez gives her credit for the growth of the team.
Hernandez said that Bruce didn’t talk much, but her actions did, and she was a great role model for the underclassmen on the team because she never missed a practice in her four years and attended all the meetings.
“I feel like I lead through example,” Bruce said. “As long as you’re showing hard work and improvement, the team will too.”
After their winless season in 2003-04, the Mustang girls’ soccer team continually improved, finishing second in TCAL two straight seasons before becoming the first girls soccer team in school history to win a league title.
Bruce was the focal point for all the teams the Mustangs played this season, and although she said it was frustrating at times because she couldn’t always play her style of game, it provided more opportunities for her teammates and Bruce had 14 assists on the season, fifth among the four South Bay Leagues.
“Not only was she good, but she made her teammates good,” Hernandez said.
Bruce was excited about being captain was it gave her the ability to help teammates more and they would take her advice.
Being doubled and triple teamed all season, Bruce needed to communicate with her teammates, and she said she encouraged them to make runs and call for the ball so she could get it to them before the double teams came.
Hernandez said you normally don’t expect players at Bruce’s position to be great distributors, but it just showed the balance of Bruce, who had 33 goals and 36 assists in her GHS career.
“She was just a great player,” Hernandez said. “Her great vision allowed our offense to be an attacking force.”
Hall said Velasquez played a big role for the Mustang boys’ soccer team on both sides of the ball.
“He doesn’t just have to play pretty,” Hall said. “Whatever it takes to get the job done, he’ll do it.”
What Velasquez did was come through during the big games, scoring a goal in each of the Mustangs playoff games.
Hall said Velasquez was a good example of big players playing big in big games, which is hard to find in a high school athlete.
“I tried to go out and play with my heart, play the game I love,” Velasquez said.
No goal Velasquez made was bigger then his game clincher against Bellarmine College Preparatory in the CCS Division 1 Finals that gave the Mustangs a 2-0 lead in route to their first CCS Division 1 title.
Hall called it classic because he said it’s seldomly seen even on the professional level.
“He’s a special kid and a good role model,” Hall said.
Both players have been putting in an enormous amount of work the past four years and are honored to be receiving this award.
After reading the Dispatch for many years and seeing other athletes named, Bruce said the honor was that much more special.
“It’s good to know that if you put in hard work and sacrifice stuff, you can achieve your goals,” Bruce said.
