Entering high school as a freshman the first sport she tried out for was basketball. This is when freshman Veronica Ramirez started to experience what it was like to be a student-athlete. Although she has a busy schedule on her hand, she still strives to improve in the sports she plays. She practiced a lot of drills in basketball such as offense, defense, lay-ups, and shooting which prepared her for the sport she plays now.

After basketball season, Ramirez decided to join the freshman soccer team where she currently plays many different positions: goalie, midfielder, and mostly forward. She mentions the main objective in soccer is to dribble the ball towards the goal and have one of the forwards score the ball. As a forward on her team she is the one responsible for scoring goals and is at the top of the field by the goal.

Being a forward or striker requires speed, endurance, and dribbling skills. She describes an exciting time when she made a goal against her opponent, but it turned out to be offsides. Offsides is when one player goes ahead of the defense and scores. “I was really excited that I made a goal until the referee called offsides,” Ramirez said. The offsides part of soccer is one thing she struggles with when the thought of making a goal suddenly triggers the referee to call an unexpected offsides.

Ramirez’s older brother is a consistent soccer player and is sort of the role model in sports for her. “My brother influenced me to play soccer and so I took his advice,” Ramirez said. She began to play soccer at the age of eight and joined the Chelsea coed league. There she played for fun, met new people, and learned the basics of soccer. Ever since she became part of the freshman team, she built a strong relationship with her teammates and understands the rules of the game. “The game comes to me very easily,” Ramirez said.

She looks forward to improving her ball handling and passing skills. With practices and games in stride she knows that improvement and success is ahead of her. Ramirez said she has to work really hard because she wishes to play at the college level.

“Soccer is really fun and I always give it my all while having a positive attitude on the field,” the freshman said.