Family.
That’s what girls soccer means to the players and coaches alike. This year was the second time in program history the team failed to make the playoffs, but the team said they’ve never felt closer.
The last time the team failed to make the playoffs was in 2015; following that season, head coach Robert Vaughn joined the program as an interim head coach. When he arrived, the players were just going through the motions, according to assistant coach Callie Essary. That changed when Vaughn came in, as he prioritized setting a culture of family and hard work.
“Vaughn came in and set in on us being a family,” Essary said. “The girls were boarding the ship and they were all in the same place — we wanted the same goal. We were able to start focusing, [and] make it [what] the girls wanted: to be here and work hard to be successful.”
Essary has been with the program for most of her life, playing all four years of her high school career and joining the coaching staff in 2015. Vaughn had been a coach with both the football team and the boys soccer team since 2008 before coaching on the girls.
“[At first,] I thought I’d go back to coaching boys after the season was over, but then I figured out girls are awesome to coach,” Vaughn said. “I wanted to [come in] and change it into a culture of family and hard work. My philosophy is: ‘We never lose a game; we just run out of time.’”
Vaughn implemented culture days and started character lessons. The lessons are through a program called 2Words, which covers themes like player growth and leadership.
“They are in groups and they do whatever that day was,” Essary said. “It’s questions about getting to know each other or activities that they’re competing in so they are able to get to know each other better.”
Junior Maddie Martinez joined the program after transferring to the school her freshman year. She said the team helped her with the transition of starting at a new school and helped her make friends quickly.
“[On] the day I joined soccer, the first thing I heard was that we were going to be a family,” Martinez said. “I’ve expected that win or [lose], we’re going to have a culture of family.”
In the last couple years, the team dealt with the loss of two people close to the program: former player Kayla Martinez’s older brother, Aaron Martinez, and former football head coach Brian Brazil.
“[Losing Aaron] rocked us all,” Vaughn said. “Everybody was hurting for [Kayla], and they really came together at that point. We had to rely on each other. We were in a meeting room and everybody was just crying and praying for each other. From then on, it’s passed down to the next group that comes in. This is what we do — we care for each other.”
Vaughn had worked with Brazil when they were both at Lewisville High School before coming to Hebron, and the pair were friends for over 20 years. Brazil was a supporter of the program and would go to games, cheer the team on and help out at practices when he could.
“It brought us together,” Essary said. “They all showed up for Kayla. A lot of them went to her brother’s funeral, and we all knew how close coach Vaughn was with coach Brazil, so we’re happy to honor them and play for them.”
The team paid tribute to Aaron and Brazil with badges on the sleeves of their jersey with both of their initials, A.M. and B.B., as well as a cross. They wore the jerseys last year and continued to wear them again this past season.
“Everyone goes through something,” senior Chloe Nugent said. “We connect with each other on a different level when it comes to hard situations. We all know what it means when we have Brian Brazil, our cross and her brother on [the jersey.] We remind each other every game that’s who we’re playing for.”
Nugent said what helped the team a lot was their connection with faith. The team prays before and after every game and practice, which senior Maya Walker said spurred from the players and leaders on the team.
“When I [transferred here last year,] everyone was so welcoming to me,” Walker said. “I’ve built some of my closest friendships that I know I’m going to have with me for life. [Praying] brings us together. Everyone has an understanding that soccer is more than [a game,] and having that religious aspect is important.”
Praying before games has been a tradition in the program since Essary was a player from 2007-10. This year, the team began praying before and after everything.
“We always say before every practice, ‘We wouldn’t be where we are without God,’’” Maddie said. “We always add that into our prayers: that we play for the glory of him, because it’s just so true. Even if it doesn’t show much in our results, it’s shown by the way we play. It’s very evident that we’re playing for the glory of God, because we’re playing with all of our heart.”
The tradition was started by the players, which Vaughn said is what impressed him the most. The leadership and connectivity of the team through adversity, not only on the field but off it as well, is what Vaughn said makes this program and its culture so special.
“It’s my second family,” Vaughn said. “We may argue sometimes, but we’re still family. We break out on ‘family.’ Then on the playoff shirts, it’ll be, ‘It’s a family business.’ That’s the word we keep using; once you’re in here, you’re part of our family.”
