Last year Bonita Vista High School’s field hockey team finished with an 11-9 record. That was good enough for second place behind the Hilltop Lancers and good enough for a CIF playoff berth, but it wasn’t good enough for coach, Ernesto Luna. This year the Barons are shooting for a league title and an opportunity to advance deeper into the stiff county playoff competition. Senior defender, Rachel Ainza is one the players that Luna is counting on to push the Barons over the top.

 “Rachel is pretty much in charge of our defense,” Luna said. “I didn’t have to personally spend a lot of time with the defense because Rachel took them and ran with it. She is the one setting it up and giving the commands out there. What I am hearing from her is usually correct so I don’t often need to add anything. As one of my three captains, Rachel has big responsibilities.”

 As a senior and one of the most experienced players on the team, the other players look up to her.

 “Rachel has really good stick work and foot work and she is a big hitter,” Luna said when pressed about her skillfulness. “She is very patient and calm when she has the ball or is around the ball. That helps our team to stay calm especially when the other team is threatening deep in our territory. She is a stopper.”

 With the departure of several key players that were expected to help out this year on defense, Ainza’s role has become more important than ever.

 “Playing defense, anything that passes midfield is pretty much fair game. We play a seesaw defense, so if the ball is on the right side the right defender pushes up and the left defender drops back. We never want to be in a straight line because then if the ball gets behind one of us it would be past all of us. Maintaining our positioning and balance is the key.”

 While the team is looking forward to playing its season opening matches it has been a struggle preparing for what should be ever improving competition.

 “As of right now I am the only returning defender. It has been hard so far with all the people we have lost on defense. I think the offense has been doing really well and it will be better than last year’s. Our goal is to win league, but I think the competition will be better than ever.”

 While Ainza has learned a lot from Luna about the technical and tactical aspects of field hockey, she has benefited from her time here in many other ways as well.

 “I like both playing field hockey and running hurdles in the spring for our track team. Field hockey is much more of a team sport while track requires more self-motivation. I think this is maybe more fun, but I like the work involved and the individual focus in track. I’ve also enjoyed the team bonding in field hockey. There are girls on this team that I might have never talked to were it not for field hockey. As a result we have become good friends. I like the idea of being part of something special at school and not just sitting in a classroom all day. I enjoy wearing my uniform to school on game days and getting up on the stage for our sports assemblies. We want to have people come to our games so we go out and support the teams playing other sports. I think participating in sports is a good way to promote school pride.”

 As bright as she is athletic, Ainza is hoping to attend a top-ranked university next year, possibly UCLA.