“Who runs the world? GIRLS!” – Beyonce.  Our girls’ sports have been thriving and winning more recently. I had the opportunity to talk to a few captains of girls’ sports at our school and got some of their input on the matter. The volleyball captains Clarissa Sparks and Brianna Mendoza (valedictorian), both seniors at South El Monte High School have been working together since their freshman season.

       Last year they became co-captains, so I asked how they work together to make the team work so well. Sparks stated, “We bring up different opinions and problems and just work it out together.”

strong team we didn’t know how to mesh everything together. All my years of volleyball have made it to CIF and continue to show strength.” I asked them one last question do they think the girls dominate the boys’ sports? Sparks stated, “Honestly, I feel like it’s true the boy sports haven’t been as prominent the years prior we have been here and an example is the girl’s soccer team in 2019.”

       Next, I was able to talk to Alexis Rodriguez, a senior at South El Monte, our softball and flag football captain. I asked Rodriguez about her role as captain. Rodriguez states “On both teams where I am a captain I can see the whole field, and a lot of communicating with my co-captain for softball (Jasmine Leyva). This helps me be able to tell them what to do with the ball cause I know what’s going on.” She is our first female quarterback at South El Monte High School and continues to show promising skills in all her sports. I was able to ask questions about how she works her team for flag football and how she keeps the team moving smoothly Rodriguez states “Honestly it’s not always smooth sailing there are days where I need to get on girls because we’re so sluggish. At the beginning of our season we were 0-4 and it was really hard to want to go to practice, but we turned it around and we know we can win and grow confidence.” Rodriguez also almost set a new record at South El Monte High School for the number of RBIs in one game. Alexis says her biggest obstacle was her battle of wanting to be seen by colleges, but flag football being her light at the tunnel helped pick her up, push harder and thrive as an athlete. One final question I asked was her opinion on the girl sports dominating the boy sports at our school. Rodriguez explains “I think it’s cool because most boys at this school will think guys are better and can do more which isn’t true because there are so many women athletes that are strong as athletes and academically inclined.” 

       So are girls’ sports thriving and dominating? We at South think women are pushing academically and athletically to reach their peak. This school year will be filled with triumphs from our females at South El Monte High School and our captains can’t wait to show you what’s in store.