Eja Fromm
Co-Editor In Chief
As the Diablos come to an end for Fall Sports, the season for Winter athletics is just around the corner!
The school year is flying by as winter sports are already beginning their season. Basketball, soccer, girls water polo, and wrestling finally get a chance to show off all their hard work that they have been putting in.
Boys Soccer has been working hard. Head Coach Castle’s main goal for the boys is to, “win the South Coast League and go deep into the playoffs.”
In order to prepare for their upcoming season, the boys have been training on a daily basis for the past three months. To truly understand every aspect of the game, they’ve had classroom sessions twice a week to observe film and work on fundamentals.
Castle expressed that one of their main strengths is their ability to organize themselves. However, a weakness he has noticed is that their varsity level is mainly underclassmen who have a lot to learn. On the other hand, they are a bright group of boys who are eager to learn and play.
Girls Water Polo is consistently training in the pool. Despite getting in the chilling water everyday, the girls have been working towards their main goal of winning league and making it to CIF.
Head coach Carla expects the team to continue working hard and to focus. She commented that, “I want all my athletes to remember that all the late nights and early mornings will pay off.”
Carla has strategically implemented training sessions to meet each girl’s needs. She did so by, “assessing each player’s skills. I focused on getting girls back in shape with low intensity conditioning that increased to high intensity as they got back in shape.”
With a lot of newcomers, it was clear that the team lacked fundamental understanding of the sport. As a new coach for this program, she also recognized that the players were accustomed to a laid back environment.
She is grateful that the players, “all had the drive, loyalty, motivation, and commitment to the team. Players were prepared for high intensity training and new rules and expectations for being on my team.”
The wrestling team has a unique dynamic like no other. Coach Dominguez hopes to see growth for the boys and girls program.
The team is filled with incoming freshmen, new wrestlers, and returning wrestlers. Coach Dominguez mentioned, “we have been active in a preseason conditioning program which has included a weightlifting regimen.”
The team is young as a whole because it is mostly composed of freshmen and sophomores. Dominguez expressed, “the strength of the team lies within our motivation and dedication to undertake the challenges of this tough sport.”
He is thrilled for the season to begin with his dedicated athletes as, “we are developing leaders and ambassadors to the sport of wrestling who will represent Mission Viejo High School with pride and excellence.”
Girls soccer has a great bond with each other. Captain Sarah Roberts commented, “we work really well on the ball so I think it’ll help lead to a pretty strong season.”
Some strengths Sarah has noticed include their passing up top and through the middle, and they work well with their patterns out of the back.
Sarah hopes for the team to accomplish making CIF and to go even farther into it than previous years. She mentioned, “we had an amazing run last year and didn’t stop putting up a fight so I hope we can bring that same energy to the field this year.”
Overall, best of luck goes out to all of these athletes!
