“The moment I got my letterman last year was the biggest accomplishment I’ve had as a soccer player”

Tara Escobar: “I’ve been playing soccer for about 10 years now, and I play either left back or defensive middle. But at some point in my life I’ve pretty much played every position on the field. I play for the Dougherty Valley women’s varsity soccer team and I also play club soccer for the Mustangs. Right now I play in the National Premier League (NPL). I moved up about two years ago. And throughout the year we do several tournaments. One of the more recent fun tournaments we did was the Mount Hood Tournament in Oregon, we also usually do the Santa Cruz tournament too. And I’ve won both of those tournaments at least once, I have around 4 medals. The Mount Hood medal, a 1st place San Ramon classic, a Stanford Cup medal, and a Davis Cup medal. But the Davis Cup medal is the one closest to my heart, because it’s local and we do it pretty much every year so it feels good to win. 

When I switched to Mustang it was also the year I became a freshman in high school, so I think that was a point of a lot of personal growth for me, not only as a soccer player but as a person too. Switching from a team that I knew from school to a team with girls that I didn’t know, I think that really helped me mature as a person because of all these new outside perspectives. But it also helped me develop my soccer skills to a different level. I would say at this moment I dedicate at least eight hours a week to games, practices and soccer in general. Right now I play varsity soccer and I’ve been on the team for about a year and a half. I got pulled up halfway through junior year, but I’ve played high school soccer for the full four years. Even though it sounds silly, I would say the moment I got my letterman last year was the biggest accomplishment I’ve had as a soccer player. For me, especially since I started on J.V. last year, it was a really big moment because it showed that I improved throughout the season and the coaches trusted me enough to bring me up.”