Team Spotlight: Folsom Lake Surf ’05 Girls Blue II – In Their Own Words

We wanted to take this opportunity and hear how soccer plays a role in the lives of our Folsom Lake Surf 05 Girls Blue II team, especially in a year where everything changed. And wow – did they have a lot to say! We invite you to get to know this strongly bonded and dedicated team with the excerpts from their written testimonies below.

Why do you play soccer?

Soccer is the most important thing in the world to me, and I love it because it makes me feel strong, empowered, and overall extremely fulfilled. – Natalie

I enjoy soccer because it is a very physically but also mentally challenging sport. – Erica

Everything about it just makes my life complete. – Lindsey

For me, soccer is a way to build relationships, character and improve my skills on something I love to do. Through soccer, I am continually presented with the opportunity to create and meet new people and possibly new friends. – Rachel

This simple game has given me so much, which I continue to be thankful for. – Nidhi

There are a lot of clubs and teams in our area, what makes this team special?

We all have such a great relationship with each other and everyone makes playing soccer together so much fun. – Emily

This team has had a great impact on me, as a player, as a person, and most as a leader, and what it took to be one, from having my coach expecting a lot from me as a player he has given me the confidence I needed on the field that I didn’t have before. He is my motivation to work harder and believe that I can do more than I think. – Czarie

I have played with these girls and coaches for about four years and I’m so thankful to have such a close relationship off and on the field, how we understand and push each other at the game to get better individually or together. – Jyoti

The friendships I have made on this team are some of the best friendships I have ever had. It’s not just like your regular school friends, your soccer friends get you at a different level. – Ana

My coach and my team have always supported me and helped me improve by showing me new things and giving me tips to improve. – Grace

We have something that not a lot of teams have these days. A bond. Not just a typical soccer team where you work together, play together, and improve together, but a bond where deep down we know that we have each other’s backs no matter what situation will arise. – Lindsey

(Our team) has many spectacular attributes that make the team stronger and unified, whether that is through training tactics or team bonding exercises. Being part of this astounding and lively team makes even practices without games fun. – Rachel

I love my team so much and we all get along great. – Zoee

You joined this team in the middle of the COVID-19 shutdown. Was that tough?

Although the first time I met the team we had to follow covid-19 regulations, the girls, coach Alex, parents and health supervisors were more than welcoming and kind. I have made so many friendships with the girls on our team and I’m so grateful to have chosen Folsom Lake Surf Soccer Club. – Taylor

Between High School life and COVID, this year has been especially challenging. How are you doing?

The main thing that has kept me motivated throughout these hard times is my team. They are always there supporting each other and cheering each other on. Even though we haven’t had any games, practices are so much fun (even with all the running). – Emily

I remember how when COVID first started my teammates were there for me reminding me that I wasn’t alone, which encouraged me to keep going and why I continued to go to the practices in this year of COVID. – Czarie

Overall, this year has been quite the roller coaster for us all, and it’s been hard for me to overcome the uncertainty of our season and my future potential as an athlete. It’s been difficult most weeks to muster the motivation to pick up a ball and go practice, especially when there’s no one to train with. However, as we approach our tentative season, the morale has been greatly boosted, and it’s become easier to envision myself continuing my journey with competitive soccer, which hopefully with more hard work, will carry me through college too. – Ruby

During this pandemic it has been hard not being able to play games, but Coach Alex has done a great job keeping us all active and together! – Nylah

I was new to the team this year, but everyone was very welcoming and friendly! I would have liked to play games but being able to train was also a good opportunity for improving my skills, and I enjoyed training drills at practice. – Erica

The past year has been all practice and no games. How do you think that will impact your play?

A good thing that came out of COVID was the fact I had a lot of extra time to train. Less school hours and places being closed freed up my schedule, allowing me to train every day and get better, and I improved my foot skills and shooting. – Natalie

After hours of engaging in agility and foot skills, I can see that we have improved on those aspects but due to the lack of time on the field as a team, there are most definitely things we could work on. For example, we have been learning to create setups to allow us to make shapes therefore giving us additional time to go through with the plays. – Maelani

All the practice did help our team in the long run because we were able to work on more technical skills and tactical skills which really helped us on the field in games. – Ana

How do you feel about starting games again?

I miss playing games because of the excitement and being together as a team on the field! I can’t wait to get back into playing games with my team! – Nylah

We miss playing and travelling around to play soccer but we adapted as best as we could, training to prepare when we come back to the real soccer experience but this team really tried to motivate each other and keep practices interesting and I can’t wait to make more memories with everyone! – Jyoti

I know everyone is looking forward to getting back to games and tournaments. Do you have a favorite with this team?

The one in particular I’m sure the rest of my team likely mentioned was our Santa Cruz tournament. It was such a pivotal moment in our growth as a team because we all drove out to the coast for the weekend for these games, and in the final, were on the brink of taking a loss after all our hard work. Down two points by halftime, yet when I looked around the circle of sweating faces each girl knew it wasn’t done as they absorbed every word from our coaches pep-talk. We ended up scoring three points, to finish off the game with a win. It was probably the happiest moment our team ever experienced together. – Ruby

One tournament that I will never forget is the Santa Cruz tournament. We got to go to the boardwalk and we won the tournament! It was so much fun. – Zoee

One specific game in which we were behind by 2 goals in halftime, which we later won by scoring 3 goals in one half. Various experiences like this prove that skill is only 1 percent of what is required in a game, but instead mindset makes up the remaining 99 percent. – Nidhi

What have you learned from playing soccer?

The two greatest lessons that I have learned while on this team are 1. Get comfortable with being uncomfortable and 2. embrace change. By being uncomfortable you can push past your limits. I have learned this in endurance training with my team. You can always run a little further or a little faster if you are willing to be uncomfortable. I have learned to embrace change through injuries that put soccer on pause and through covid. I would not be the person I am today without soccer. – Grace

As individuals, we all play different roles but when working collectively, the result is much more meaningful when we are able to recognize our strengths and weaknesses as a team. – Maelani

No team is a team without the support of coaches, and this one is no different. And so we’re giving Head Coach Alex Gonzalez the final words.

I am proud to coach this team with Assistant Coach Melinda Clark. It has been very rewarding to see them grow as players and people. The foundation of any successful team is the love of the game and a bond with your teammates. You can see in the teams’ comments above that the foundation of this team is strong. It’s an incredible environment of trust among the girls which gives them freedom to go forward and play with confidence because there is a strong friendship in the group. Even over the past year, our team has found joy on the field and with one another. I can’t wait to see what they do with the remaining years in high school and in college. – Coach Alex