The ball curved through the air off a corner kick. Then came the clean strike. It flew into the back of the net before anyone could react. For a moment, Mayra Perla just stood there, surprised. Her first goal of the season had just happened, and it was a moment she’d remember forever.
Perla, a sophomore at CVHS, wrapped up her first varsity soccer season with two big honors: “Newcomer of the Year” for the district and a spot on the first Team All-District list.
But before the awards, before the goals and before anyone outside her team knew her name, there was a cousin who talked her into trying something new.
“I started soccer because of my cousin since he convinced me to join a team with him. I didn’t really like it at first but he kept making me go with him and eventually I started enjoying it so I decided to stick with it,” Perla said.
Soccer didn’t come easy at first. And even when it did, injuries became a setback she had to face more than just once. And it wasn’t just that pain that hurt every time she had to sit out.
“Injuries … take away time from development and it also makes me lose a bit of my progress,” Perla said. “But mostly what I do to overcome this is by giving my body time to recover.”
Coming back from recovery is just as difficult. Doubts would often follow Mayra around during these times unlike they ever had for her.
“Especially when recovering from injuries where I felt as if I wouldn’t be able to play as I once did,” Perla said. “But I felt like the more I played the more I was regaining my skills which kept me motivated to keep going.”
That motivation helped lead to her most memorable game of the season.
“I think it was our second game against Austin since I scored my first goal all season and first hat trick,” Perla reflected.
But beyond the field, Perla has to juggle school, games, and her personal life, typical of any high-school student athlete.
“I try to make time for everything and spacing out things to make sure it doesn’t all pile up although sometimes it is hard to hang out with friends if I am having games,” Perla stated.
She gives a lot of credit to her parents.
“I would say [they] are my biggest supporters. They take me to all my games and all show up when I need them to. They have been supporting me through every step of my journey and I don’t think I would be the player I am today without them,” Perla said. “They have given me everything I need in order to become better and I’m really grateful for them.”
Coaches and teammates have helped push her too, as Perla says that “they always push me to do better during games and practices.”
For Perla, being named Newcomer of the Year was about more than a title.
“I feel proud of receiving Newcomer of the Year and being able to say I received it means a lot…I feel like I am being recognized for my efforts during the season,” Perla expressed.
She isn’t sure what the future holds yet, but she knows one thing for sure, “I would like to play college soccer.”
There’s always room to grow, and that’s what keeps her going.
“I keep pushing myself to improve because I know there is always someone better which motivates me to become better,” Perla declared.
Looking back, she knows what she’d tell her younger self.
“I would tell myself that there are going to be times where you’re going to feel like giving up but it all starts to come together eventually and it will become a very valuable part of your life,” Perla reflected.
And when people remember this season, she hopes it’s not just the awards they think of.
“I hope they remember my first goal of this season. I scored from a corner kick and it was a really nice goal,” Perla said.
