The Franklin High School girls’ soccer team started conditioning on Aug.11. The girls are getting warmed up and ready to start playing for this year’s season, which will start the second week of November.
According to the coaches, Adrian Gonzalez and Wenses Contreras, they have been working hard on technical skills, building stamina, and learning how to maintain the ball without getting knocked off. “The goal for this season is to win the league, but most importantly, let the new and returning players learn and grow a love for the sport,” the coaches stated.
Adrian Gonzalez, the assistant athletic director who also coaches varsity girls’ soccer, has been coaching for twenty-six years. Gonzalez has been coaching at FHS for four years and said he’s proud that he got the opportunity to coach at FHS.
“All the girls I had were very easy to work with, and I enjoyed it better than I thought,” Gonzalez said. Gonzalez said his goal for this season is to continue to build a competitive program at FHS. He said he also wants to make sure he is putting a good environment around the players, whether they are returning or new. 
Contreras, the junior varsity coach, has been coaching here at FHS since 2022. Contreras said it was a good opportunity to coach here since he graduated in 2010.
Contreras said it has been the highlight of his life to be a coach at FHS, not only for the environment that he and the other coaches have created for the players, but for the foundation that they’ve made to encourage all these girls to learn and compete.
Contreras stated that every year, both the games and the memories seem to get better and better. His goals for this season are to keep fostering this fun environment for new and returning players, always win the league, but more importantly, help foster these girls to grow the game and their relationship with each other.
Here are some seniors who would like to share their experiences throughout their years of playing soccer.
Karol Juarez is a senior, and she has played soccer since she was eight years old. She was on junior varsity for one year and got moved up to varsity her sophomore year. It was a big change for her and made her mentality grow stronger. She plays soccer as a hobby and really enjoys it. The environment for her is very positive and calms her mind. Her goal for this season is for everyone to put in effort, get along, and make it to the playoffs. Gonzalez has always been supportive of her and never lets her forget her improvement.
Melody Martinez started soccer in eighth grade at a small outside club where players are in independent, competitive club teams, as distinct from their school. She made the team and got moved up to varsity her junior year. Her experience on the team has been a roller coaster for her. JV was full of joy, fun activities, many friends, and overall very entertaining. Varsity changed her mentality in a way for her to improve more. It made her be more attentive and in the zone. Martinez says that soccer is a sport that distracts her from everything, provides anxiety relief, and is a healthy sport. Her goals for this season are to see more improvement in herself, win tournaments, and for the team to be more supportive towards each other.
Daisy Cruz has been playing soccer for all four years of high school and throughout middle school. She said she enjoys soccer because it distracts her from all of her problems. She’s been on varsity for three years and on JV only her freshman year. Switching to varsity was a totally different environment for her; it was very fast-paced, with competitive players and a different structure during practices. Her goals for this upcoming season are to score goals, do better than last season, make it to the playoffs, and have a good game during her senior night.
