It was 5:30 in the morning. Two girls rushed into her bedroom: familiar faces. Screams were heard. “Get up! Get up!” Suddenly, it became dark. A blindfold covered her eyes. What she saw when the blindfold was removed came as a surprise. 

The San Juan Hills High School soccer field. 

This was the story of junior Haley Juarez’s “kidnapping” to varsity, but she wasn’t the only one who experienced an interesting morning. 

On October 18th, twelve girls went from being “kidnapped” to celebrating, finding out that they made it on the 2021-2022 varsity girls soccer team. 

The varsity “kidnapping” is an annual tradition for the girls soccer program. When the teams are chosen, returning varsity players are told which new girls will be joining their team. 

Then, two returning players are assigned to one new player, where they will make a shirt to give to their player on “kidnapping” day. These girls are also the ones “kidnapping” their assigned player, and driving them to the soccer field.

Early in the morning, on the day of the “kidnapping”, the returning varsity players set out to the new girls’ houses. The new players have no idea they are about to receive a surprise visit. 

“I had no idea they were coming that morning. I was asleep in bed and the next thing I knew, I was in a car heading to campus,” said Juarez. 

When all the players arrived at the field, they realized what was going on. The field was flooded with excitement, everyone in their homemade shirts and Coach Farrel with a big smile on her face. 

The girls’ faces lit up, feeling satisfied that their hard work was finally paying off. They made the varsity team. 

This surprise came without warning to the new girls. After the excitement of it all, they began to realize something. They were pulled out of bed at five in the morning, and school was about to start. 

“Don’t get me wrong, I was so excited that morning. But once the reality set in that we still had school, I realized that I looked a bit crazy. I didn’t have enough time to brush my teeth, do my hair, or anything. The only thing they let me do real quick was grab some shorts, and then we were out the door,” said Juarez. 

Although the girls may have been wearing their pajamas all day, they weren’t thinking about how they looked that morning. All they could think about was the opportunities ahead, the memories to be made, and of course, the future games to be won. 

Being “kidnapped” typically doesn’t seem like an ideal way to start the morning, but for twelve girls it meant everything. With new additions to the team, the girls are preparing for a successful season ahead. Check out their future game stats here.