Taking Home the Goal

As the soccer season begins at Neuwirth, both our girls and boys teams are working hard to prove themselves and their skills on the field. We decided to kick off this season by taking a step inside the field and showing what our team is really about.

Meeting the Team

For many of our players this is not their first year playing soccer for the Neuwirth team. Jason Portillo, our school’s left-back defender for the boys' team, Christian Martinez who plays center mid also for the boys' team, and America Esiquio who switches between defender and forward for the girls' team all have prior experience on the Neuwirth team. While there are players that are returning, Neuwirth’s team also has some fresh faces like Estefania Jimenez who plays right field for the girls' team. The players all have said that this is going to be a “good season” and we have players like Portillo who are feeling “confident” when asked to elaborate he adds, “I strongly believe we will win this year as we are off to a great start and are training to improve even more.” All our players have their reasons for joining the team, some like Martinez and Esiquio have family ties to the sport and team and chose to follow in their siblings' footsteps. Others like Jason Portillo have had a passion for soccer their entire life so joining the team was a no-brainer for him. Then there are people like Estefania who were brave enough to step out of their comfort zone and try something new. Whatever the reason may be, our soccer team has come together and is ready to win.

The team is only as good as the coach who’s job is to help shape them into the players they need to be. Our coach for both the boys and girls is Jesús Alfonso Montoya who has been a coach for 8 years now. Montoya started coaching for his son’s team at a local club and was able to become the coach for Neuwirth team through connection he had from his daughter. Since Ms. Alex is out for maternity leave, Coach Montoya has taken on coaching duty for both teams this season. When asked how it feels to coach a school's team, Montoya stated, “High school coaching it’s really tough in many ways - it is played with more intensity. I like the competition and enjoy every minute of it.” It is hard to coach two teams at once all by himself, and Montoya feels like his biggest challenge right now is, “Practice time and field availability is what keeps us from getting the kids ready.” As a coach of both teams, Montoya is limited in what he can do, but he loves his role and wishes he could be more involved with the school and players to make sure the team is the best they could be.

Communication is Key

The team experience is important when playing any type of sport since they must rely on one another in order to win since it’ll be impossible to do it all alone. All our players on the team want to reach the playoffs and go far into this season so they know they must work together. When asked about the team’s communication skills Jiminez on the girls' team mentioned, “I personally think we do have communication, it's something we could definitely improve but the communication is there I feel like we’re each building a bond with each other. But having stronger communication in the field would help us out..” Jimenez’s teammate Esiquio agreed on the matter believing just like any other team, there is always room for improvement. Similarly, on the boys’ team, Portillo adds, “I believe our team communication is good but it can also improve so that we are consistently communicating..” Since the season has started this year’s competition is known and is fierce where players like Esiquio and Jimenez are saying this might be a “challenging” season in terms of opponents. But a challenge is not going to make our team timid, Jimenez claims, “I personally think that we could get through it and help each other on the field.” The Neuwirth team is ready to overcome any obstacle.

Training and Building Bonds

To our players, soccer is an important part of who they are so they don’t only work hard during games, but as well as during training. Practice doesn’t have a specific day for our players and the days they practice together depend on their schedule with games, but when our team is together and practicing they work on shooting, practicing different plays, and even scrimmages. When asked what the team is doing differently this year than as opposed to past years, Portillo answered, “We are passing the ball around more accurately and more efficiently to get the ball moving up the field quicker which we didn’t do much the year before.” Portillo also added that physical training isn’t the only thing the team practices, but as well as team bonding to better help with the teams’ connection and flow on the field. Martinez agreed, even adding that “Training is beneficial because it helps you get into shape and know what plays to do during the game and the chemistry within the team in order to do well.” It is still a work in progress as Esiquio mentioned since for the girls’ team seniors made up a good part of the teams’ numbers last year and since this year those girls have left, new players have been brought in so that chemistry has to be rebuilt with them. Training is also very important for some of our players like Jimenez who said they were originally “clueless” when starting since it is her first year doing any sports, but has slowly gotten the hang of it. When asked about the training she mentioned, ”It's beneficial because you're able to work on small things that help you out on the field but mostly help out one another. You're able to see what you're improving on or like what you could improve on the field.” Our players are working hard and endlessly to ensure they win this season.

Where the Teams Go From Here

Since the season has already started, our teams need all the support they can get. Neuwirth as a school has to show our pride for our teams and let them know they aren’t the only ones on the field and that the entire school has their back. To do this it is key that we attend their games and if we cannot then we must find a way to show our players that the school believes in them and their ability to win. We see the hard work they are putting in for this season and it is only right that we have their backs as a school.