JV soccer imparts life skills of leadership, collaboration

Although girls soccer teaches players about various drills and techniques, it also imparts other crucial life skills and lessons. 

Sophomore Kimberly Capio said she has been playing soccer for around 11 years, and attributes soccer to teaching her how to become a better leader. 

“I learned to be more of  a leader on the field [by] telling people [that they] need to work on this, or give them directions on what to do,” Capio said. 

Leadership skills are definitely one of the most important things when it comes to sports, [but it] doesn’t matter if you’re the captain, you guys are still working as a team … to achieve one goal: scoring.

— Aaliyah Bustamante

However, Capio said soccer also taught her how to schedule her activities accordingly and how to balance her time. 

“[The time I spend on soccer and school] is pretty equal,” Capio said. “I have soccer every single day and then after I work,  [but] usually I don’t have a lot of homework so that’s good.”

Freshman Aaliyah Bustamante said that she has only been playing soccer for HHS since November, but has nine years of experience outside of school. 

“My parents put me in three [different] sports, [but] soccer naturally came to me and they thought I was good,” Bustamante said. “[That’s when] I decided to pursue my soccer career.”

Bustamante said soccer also encouraged her to look at the various aspects of collaboration. 

“Leadership skills are definitely one of the most important things when it comes to sports,” Bustamante said, “[but it] doesn’t matter if you’re the captain, you guys are still working as a team … to achieve one goal: scoring.”

Freshman Amirah Curry said she has been playing soccer since she was three. She said that the team provided a welcoming atmosphere, and also has allowed her to work on her relationships with others. 

“You have to build up [the relationship],” Curry said. “If you and your teammates don’t have a good relationship, you usually don’t play well together on the field.”

The JV girls soccer team works on footwork and technical skills during their practice.  Photo by Seoyoung Hwang.