With soccer season upon us, no one is more enthusiastic than Cinco’s new varsity Coach Claudia Monagas. Monagas’ optimistic attitude is leading the varisty team to districts, but she values teamwork above all else.

“One thing we say is just to take it one game at a time,” Monagas said.“Whatever happens, happens. We never talk about playoffs or state, we say that the most important game is the next one. Stay focused.”

Monagas has been teaching at Cinco for three years now as an English III teacher. Prior to Cinco, she was a junior varsity soccer coach at Langham Creek. She was just recently promoted to the girl’s varsity coach this year after Coach Fredy Sanguinetti was named as the new  boys varsity soccer coach.

“Last year, I just had to focus on the coaching, but now when you’re moved to being a head varsity coach there’s a ton of paperwork that you have to do that you didn’t have to do as an assistant,” Monagas said.“So the biggest change is definitely all that paperwork for sure.”

After the team she was helping coach went to state semi-finals two years ago during her first year at Cinco, she hopes to return. She is passionate about coaching and loves pushing the team to do their best.

“I’m very honest with the players in terms of how I see them,” Monagas said. “I tell them, I’ll get on them, but 10 seconds later I’m their biggest cheerleader. When they do something bad, I let them know, but when they do something really good, I’ll let them know as well.”

Varsity team captain, Ashley Bencivengo, has been playing soccer since she was five. She has known Coach Monagas since her sophomore year, but this is her first year with her as head coach.

“She’s been guiding us, because it was a big change this year with Coach Sanguinetti and Coach Monagas but she’s just been keeping the same culture with the team,” Bencivengo said.

With districts near, the team is training hard to achieve success. Monagas enjoys leading them during her first year as head coach.

“We do a preseason to prepare for it, but district, there’s a little more excitement to those games than the preseason ones,” Monagas said.

Keeping the team together is more meaningful than winning to both Monagas and Bencivengo, and their biggest goal is to preserve this and continue to motivate the team. Bencivengo says coach works hard to inspire the squad.

”My coaching focus is just to encourage us to always stay together as a team and fall in love with the process,” Monagas said.