Women soccer players manage the cold in their own ways

WRITTEN BY Georgia Richie

   // As December is approaching, so is the Women’s soccer high school season at Las Lomas. The Bay Area’s days get much shorter and the weather drops during this time, and the women’s soccer team faces new challenges to prevent losses. They must maintain speed, stamina and spirit when they are numb on the field. With the turf growing frost on it and not being able to feel their toes, these women have to adapt their techniques to keep winning. 

   How do they manage to turn the cold weather into an advantage rather than a setback? Mela Lyhne, a sophomore at Las Lomas on the JV soccer team, talks about how she manages to keep warm on the field when she is not in an active play. “My coach always tells me to stay on my toes by jogging in place to keep warm and alert for when the ball is heading my way,” said Lyhne. 

   Another concerning factor of running and playing in this cold weather is how these young women prevent and recover from injuries. Lyhne said “Before every game, we do dynamic stretches to prevent any injuries and when I get home I will use a massage gun on sore muscles followed by a hot shower,” said Lyhne. 

   Other ways these Women stay warm are layers. Naomi Bamford and Kate Krutwagon, two juniors on varsity said, “We play with long sleeves under our jerseys and gloves with hand warmers inside of them to help with the cold.” Bamford does state that the varsity captains play a huge role regarding the cold because they have to find ways to make sure the team stays alert and hyped up even when they are freezing. It is confirmed that the cold does affect how the women’s soccer team plays, but it also affects the other team Krutwagon claimed. “We practice at night around 8 pm starting in November while it’s cold so our team starts to get used to it before our first day in December. The most important practices are while it is raining because our team learns to adjust and what works for us during practice, so if we ever have a rain game we will be ready.” All winter athletes need to learn how to adjust to these chilly changes in California. The women’s soccer team at Las Lomas shows how they do it.