Secret buddies on girls varsity soccer

Hannah Miller, Editor-in-Chief

An annual tradition for the girls soccer team, secret buddies are partners on the squad that get each other gifts on games days. With the varsity girls’ last away game on May 9, the girls gave away their last gifts to each other. Freshman Fransheska Fontanez-Gonzalez enjoys getting to pick things out for her friend and teammate.

“I like doing secret buddies because it gave me the benefit to actually go out and buy things with my own money,” Fontanez-Gonzalez said.

Maddy Scott, another freshman on the team, believes it helps bring a closer bond between the girls.

“[Secret buddies are great] because I like giving stuff, and it’s caring. It’s like, ‘Hey, I’m your sister! Hey, I love you’,” Scott said.

With a small team of only 14 girls, Scott thinks it’s important for the players to get along off the field in order to be better on it.

“You’re not just team members, you’re like family and you can talk about anything… Overall there’s a good connection [between us],” Scott said.

Junior Gabby Wilson feels the overall camaraderie is strong among the teammates.

“I’d say [our connection] is pretty good because we’re all really good friends and have dance parties and hang out,” Wilson said. “It makes it a lot easier to communicate because we’re all willing to communicate with each other, and it’s easier to come back from being down goals because we all know what needs to happen without being said.”

Fontanez-Gonzalez describes the team as a family, calling them loving, daring, intimidating, and silly. Looking out for each other on the pitch is an important factor for her.

“I feel like we all get along. When we string things together [on the field] we all get really excited,” Fontanez-Gonzalez said. [It’s important we get along off the field. Because] then you know how to communicate on the field, and they’re like ‘I got you!’”