Photograph by Douglas Rider
Soccer Sisters: Marisol, left, and Maricella Padilla are the best players on each of their Sherman Oaks Soccer Club teams, two of which are made up of mostly boys.
Soccer-playing girls are best players on the boys' teams
Padilla sisters come from athletic family and show leadership on the soccer field
By Suzanne Barnecut
Marisol Padilla, age 11, admits that there are some boys who can play better soccer than girls. She is being objective and reasonable, though her younger sister, Maricella Padilla, age 9, sweetly adds with the same measured humility that there are also a few girls who are better at soccer than the boys. Maricella is not talking about being better than just a handful of boys, either. She means that sometimes a girl can be better than most of the boys.
The two Padilla sisters are the top players across a variety of teams in the Sherman Oaks Soccer Club. They are also each the female captain of two male teams, respective to their differing ages. Marisol plays indoor girls' soccer and is on the "under-12 boys' " team, while Maricella plays with the indoor girls,' as well as on the "under-12 girls' " and "under-10 boys' " teams. The Sherman Oaks Soccer Club also offers a team for boys, ages 8 and younger.
The last week in March marked the closing of the Padilla sisters' season with the indoor girls' team and the simultaneous opening of their outdoor season. The indoor girls team was undefeated this past season and returned home with second place from the Indoor Girls League National Championships held in Las Vegas the weekend of March 23-25. They lost the title in the last 45 seconds of their fourth and final game. It was a blow, but their coach, Osvaldo Rubio, a fourth-grade teacher at Sherman Oaks Elementary School, praised the girls for "playing their hearts out."
The trip wasn't all business, however, and coming in second place was cushioned with a stay at Circus Circus hotel, time at the Adventure Dome (the hotel's theme park), swimming and pizza outings. The girls also remember their 5 a.m. wake-up call Sunday morning for hotel checkout. Judging by their smiles, it was a little too early for their liking.
March 27 was also the beginning of the semi-finals with the local indoor girls' teams through San Jose's MACSA League. They once again took home second place. Now with the season over, the boys' outdoor teams get the full attention of the Padilla girls.
Playing with the boys is less a big deal than it might at first seem to be--to both the Padilla sisters and the boys. That is, unless one of the two girls is missing from their teams. Marisol is the leading scorer on the under-12 team, and Maricella is known as the force behind the under-10 team. Appropriately, she's wearing a blue T-shirt bearing the Superman logo. However, the shirt reads: Super Princess.
According to Rubio, having a girl on a boys' team technically works to their advantage because the boys on the other teams never know how to react. On his own teams, however, he said, "I instill in them respect and discipline. To the boys, a girl is just another player on the team." While the teams are set apart by age and gender, the point of the Sherman Oaks Soccer Club is just to come out and play the game.
Photograph by Jacqueline Ramseyer
Foot Duel: Marisol Padilla battles for the ball during game at Sherman Oaks Elementary School between her team, the Tauros, and the Perus. Marisol is the top-scoring player on her boys' team.
The club is not associated with Sherman Oaks Elementary School, though they do practice on the school's field and many of the school's students participate in the club. "It's an after-school club," Rubio said, "and whoever wants to play shows up to play." There are approximately 60-70 youngsters currently playing with the club. The girls play against teams on the South Bay Soccer League and the boys are part of the La Esperanza Soccer League. Each team practices twice a week, from 4 to 5:30 p.m.
This year there will actually be two additional girls joining Marisol on the boys' team and she says she's glad for the company. Of the two girls, Marisol has taken the brunt of gender-based commentary, usually from the parents of boys on the opposing team. Coach Rubio reminded Marisol of times when a dad from another team will call out to his son, "Don't let the girl push you!" and asked her what her reaction is.
With a smile she responded, "Push 'em more."
"Marisol is very rough," Rubio noted. "She does push the boys around." But Marisol also averages about one goal per game, and that's at about 10 games per season. She was awarded a World Cup collector's coin two years ago for being named the best player by a consensus of coaches and La Esperanza League Board members.
Since Marisol is the leading scorer, assistant coaches often ask her how many points she'll score before a game begins. "She never says, though," Rubio said. "She just goes out and does it."
Marisol agreed, "I don't know what will happen on the soccer field. Anything could happen."
Maricella is following quickly in Marisol's steps. "I don't want to say this," Coach Rubio laughed, "but when Maricella isn't playing, they usually lose. It's like the boys don't know what to do. She's tough, she uses her speed and power to score. She's the leader out there."
Both girls follow in the footsteps of their four older siblings: Andrea, Carmen, Jesus and Patricia. Andrea, at 17 years old, is the only Padilla who is not playing soccer. And the parents of the six Padilla children, Andres and Monique, are busy working. They manage facilities at an apartment complex and were unavailable for an interview.
Photograph by Douglas Rider
Leaders of the Pack: Marisol, right, and Maricella Padilla lead the boys back from a warm-up run before soccer practice at Sherman Oaks School.
Marisol and Maricella both particularly look up to Carmen, a sophomore at Mitty High School and a forward on the school's varsity girls' soccer team.
Maricella solemnly noted, "She knows a lot about soccer."
"I feel special that they look up to me," Carmen Padilla says of Marisol and Maricella. "It keeps me on track in school and helps me to stay focused so I can be a good example to them."
The sky seems to be the limit for the Padilla sisters, or rather, the goal posts. Marisol and Maricella both aspire to be professional soccer players as they grow older. It is timely then, that the Professional Women's Soccer League will begin this April and San Jose will host a local team, the Cyber Rays.
For now, however, Marisol will keep her day job as a sixth-grader at Monroe Middle School where she says she enjoys her physical education classes best. Maricella, by contrast, is a fourth-grader at Sherman Oaks and likes math.
And as if having soccer practice four days a week with games most Saturdays weren't enough, both girls also take hip-hop dance classes through the Sherman Oaks Community Center. Marisol mentioned that their group recently took first place at a dance competition. Rubio adds that Maricella has a tendency to dance whenever she hears music.
Their new season lies ahead and according to the Padilla duo, their mutual goal is to help their teams come in first place this year. Rubio added, "I just hope they can continue playing and enjoying the game and to continue improving. Soccer is their life. They live and breathe it."
Willow Glen, California Since 1992
