Guac Girls go to Festival

Intensity builds and nerves pulse as all eyes follow the ball now flying toward the goal. Kelly Perkins from Gilroy, CA, passes the ball to Rachel Maxwell, a Fallbrook field hockey player, who swiftly shoots the ball past the goalie and into the goal.

The Fallbrook field hockey team, a.k.a. the Guac Girls, won the game 1-0 in Palm Springs, where they competed in Festival, a three-day field hockey tournament. The girls joined 188 other field hockey teams from around the nation and had the opportunity to play five teams from the east coast.

The games played at Festival involve higher risk due to the level of physical play allowed by referees. However, this makes the competition more intense and intriguing, leaving viewers in awe of the effort and performance displayed by each team. The players fall, push, slam and are injured more often in these games. Good thing there were lots of trainers, ice and nearby x-ray machines – as Whitney Worley, right midfielder, came away from the second game with a fractured hand. The Guac Girls had to step up their play to the challenge of the competition in their difficult pool. They left the fields with one win, three ties and two losses.

The Guac Girls’ first game of the tournament ended as a 1-1 tie. Their opponent scored the first goal in a penalty corner. A penalty corner is given to the offensive team when a defender fouls inside the circle of the goal. The Guac Girls answered back in the goal with one minute left in the game. Left midfielder Amber Bowman dragged the ball up the field and passed it off to forward Hillary Price, who tipped it into the goal. The team congratulated Hillary as she once again scored a goal for their team.

The girls’ Fallbrook field hockey team had a blast bonding with each other over the four days they stayed in Palm Springs, rooming and hanging out together. Even though many of the girls were away from most of their family for Thanksgiving dinner, junior left forward Emily Badillo’s family opened their condo in Palm Springs to all the girls and the families that joined them. This elucidated the family aspect of the team, as all 43 people were thankful for a great meal together.

The players are not only sisters on the field but off the field as well. Coach Kathy Waite has a motherly role, taking care of and living with the girls when they travel as a team. She has been called “truly the most awesome coach any athlete could ask for.”

Waite helps all the team in their game play and in the game of life as the girls “play it, live it, love it.” She holds the team together with her love and support and there are no words to exemplify her passion and heart for field hockey.

The team thanks Coach Waite for a great year and many memories. They also thank their families and the community of Fallbrook for their support.