Star player

By Jaslene Alvarado

15-year-old Kaycee Landa plays soccer not only because she loves it, but also to follow in the footsteps of her older sister and father. Landa was dedicated to making varsity just like her sister did. But making it her freshman year was just a bonus.

During Landa's freshman year, she participated in four sports: cross country, soccer, track, and field. Doing 3 sports won Landa an award, “Athlete Of The Year,” which was an exciting but also nerve-racking experience for her.

Landa: “I felt really nervous just to stand up and walk to get my award. And really nervous just standing there waiting for them to take a picture.”

Landa joined cross country, thinking it would help improve her conditioning for soccer. 

The transition from 1 sport to another wasn’t as difficult as Landa thought it would be since both sports involved running and endurance. 

Landa: “I started doing cross country because I thought it would help me make the varsity soccer team by improving my conditioning.”

Landa’s process of preparing for High school soccer included a lot of training, conditioning, and playing club soccer. All that hard work paid off; Landa made Yerba Buena's varsity girls soccer team as a freshman. 

It was the 3rd day of tryouts, and on the last day, the teams were picked. The coaches had all the players sit and wait for them to hear their name. Coach Salazar, the varsity coach, read the list of names, and Landa heard her name. Landa was so excited, she couldn’t stop smiling.

Landa: “It was the last day of tryouts, and I was sitting on the field waiting for the coaches to announce who made varsity. As coach Salazar read the list of names, I heard mine, and I couldn’t stop smiling.”

As the season went on, with all the team practices and games, Landa made a lot of friends and memories. Her favorite memory was going to in N out burger with the whole team after a win.

Landa: “I was really honored to be on varsity as a freshman, and my favorite memory was being friends with the team and winning games. And going to in N out burger was my favorite part.”

Overall the sport taught Landa to work hard and keep a positive mentality. Soccer helped Landa not only with her confidence but also helped her grow as a person.Landa is now in her sophomore year, trying to do better in school and in sports, preparing for her second year of high school soccer, and excited to make more memories.

Landa: Soccer has really helped me a lot. It’s taught me to work hard, stay positive, and keep trying even when things don’t go my way. I’ve learned how to work with other people and be a good teammate. Playing has also made me more confident and helped me handle both winning and losing better, it helped grow as a person.