Girls’ Soccer Season Preview

As one of the most anticipated sports of the year, girls soccer is just around the corner. Mission Bay High School’s girls soccer is in Division One - the highest division any sport is in at Mission Bay. Every year anywhere from 40 to 80 girls are expected to try out, and 16-18 girls are admitted onto each team (JV and varsity). With a last year ratio of 13 wins, 7 losses, one tie and the Champions of the Barons tournament, these girls are clearly talented and work hard.

English teacher, athletic director and head soccer coach of varsity, Coach Palacios was very enthusiastic when talking about the upcoming season. He was very excited for tryouts and said he expected to see lots of returning sophomores and juniors, and many new freshmen.

As for what he was looking for, he described he was looking for good athletes, hard workers, and good teammates. Along with JV and varsity, he stated that there was a freshman team that works with Pacific Beach Middle School which freshmen could possibly join. Coach Palacios hopes for this year to be filled with good conditioning, good soccer, and fun. The biggest thing he aims for is a hard-working team and great spirit which is what Mission Bay girl’s soccer team is known for.

One of Coach Palacios’ favorite parts of the season is tryouts because it is something new and he gets to meet new people, but his all-time favorite is the improvements the teams face over the course of the season. In a sport, there has to be effort from all the players to succeed. As a team, what he believes what it takes to succeed is sacrifice, hard work, listening skills and leadership.

As said before, Mission Bay High School girl’s soccer is in Division One- which means Coach Palacios plans to take a firm but fun approach towards the team. The soccer season is something he always looks forward to, and he’s excited to work with the girls to make this the best season they’ve played yet!

As a sophomore who was on varsity last year as a freshman, Brittany Barnes got a chance to talk to me about her thoughts for the upcoming season. Brittany was on JV volleyball and also ran track but has definitely made it clear that soccer is her favorite sport to play as a Buccaneer. Her favorite part of the season last year was playing during rainy games and she loved being on varsity. The girls welcomed her with open arms even though she was a freshman and she quickly formed great bonds with the girls on the team.

The sportsmanship of all the girls is clearly great- they support and motivate each other while being positive, which makes the experience much more enjoyable to live out. As a sophomore, she hopes that the soccer teams will play well and do their best as they did last year. The only thing she would like to be different this year is more goals being shot. Coaches are a big part of the after school sports experience, and Brittany says Palacios makes an impact on the team in a great, positive way. She even went on to describe him as the best coach she has ever had- naming his outstanding qualities as a coach such as being very funny and nice.

After talking to Coach Palacios and a few girls on the team, I am 100% fully confident that Mission Bay High School girls soccer will continue to be a strong sport offered at Mission Bay! All the girls enjoy it, the coaches enjoy coaching it- the soccer season is a complete enjoyable, great experience for everyone involved. This means, even if you don’t play soccer, you can always go to one of the JV/varsity games! The soccer games are scheduled on the bulletin which is read by your 1st period teacher, so always be sure to watch out for those announcements! We encourage you to come out and support your Mission Bay Buccaneers!

As a result, everyone is looking forward to this season of soccer which will be filled with hard work, happiness and hopefully many wins!

First JV Game: Dec. 7 against Rancho Bernardo @ Olympian High School

First Varsity Game: Dec. 2 against Hoover @ Hoover