Freshman Zoe Wolfers races down the field in her bright blue jersey during a scrimmage. Her coaches command her team in Spanish from the sidelines. She sees the black and white ball move towards her and finds her rhythm. She belongs on the field, her confidence soaring as she steals the ball from the opposition and passes it towards her teammate. This is who she is.

At the beginning of second semester, Wolfers attended TOVO Academy for four weeks in Sitges, Spain to play soccer.

Wolfers said that she began playing soccer when she was five years old. Until she was nine, she viewed it as just another thing she did, but eventually that changed.

“As I got older and found my own position and place in the game, [soccer] became part of who I was,” Wolfers said.

Wolfers said her passion led her to TOVO Academy to hone her soccer skills in a high-intensity environment.

“There were a lot of people playing [there] from all over the world; from Italy, Japan, and Australia,” Wolfers said.

Wolfers said that the ages of her teammates ranged from 11 to 21. Some played on club teams, some played in college, and some were going pro.

According to TOVO Academy, the goal of the academy is to immerse student-athletes in a footballer’s paradise, a culture that lives and breathes football.

“It’s a different training method in Spain,” Wolfers said. “It’s kind of based off the FC Barcelona dynamic and the way they do things.”

The training expands on basic ideas such as space, time, and distance, Wolfers said. Going through this training process changed how she viewed playing soccer.

“It’s a lot more about playing where the space is, how you work as a team, and awareness,” Wolfers said.

Wolfers said that she also learned not to panic and can apply this, among the other things she has learned, to her life when faced with difficult situations that seem to have no solutions.

While Wolfers said that she learned a lot, she worried about missing most of the high school soccer season.

However, Wolfers fit into the team very well when she returned, said women’s junior varsity soccer co-captain and sophomore Laine Avagliano.

“It was really a smooth [transition],” she said. “It was a gain of another really good player.”

Avagliano said that Wolfers is very motivated.

“She seems really excited to get back into [playing] and into [our] routine,” Avagliano said.

Wolfers said that her routine was turned upside down while in Sitges and she had to adjust to many new things.

“The time change was really different,” Wolfers said. “It’s the worst possible time change you could have. Basically the only time [people in California] are awake is when [people in Spain] are asleep.”

Wolfers said that it was hard for her to communicate with her parents and teachers back in Piedmont. Beyond this, Wolfers had to put her Spanish skills to the test.

“All the kids spoke English, but some of the teachers and coaches only spoke Spanish,” Wolfers said.

Still, Wolfers said that it was hard for her to connect with the other kids at first. Nevertheless, she was able to meet people from all over the world, and still stays in touch with some of her closest friends.

After Wolfers returned to Piedmont, people were pleasantly surprised to learn she had attended TOVO Academy, said women’s junior varsity head soccer coach Marcus Watson.

“I didn’t even know about Zoe doing it,” Watson said. “She told me she was going to Spain, she said for school, I had no idea it was for soccer.”

]Coming back to Piedmont, Wolfers said that she is planning to play soccer throughout high school and college if possible. Even if she cannot, she will always remember the lessons she learned through soccer and the friends she made at TOVO Academy.

In her bright blue jersey, freshman Zoe Wolfers races down the field during a scrimmage. Her coaches command her team in Spanish from the sidelines. She sees the black and white ball move towards her and finds her rhythm. She belongs on the field, her confidence soaring as she steals the ball from the opposition and passes it towards her teammate. This is who she is.

At the beginning of second semester, Wolfers attended TOVO Academy for four weeks in Sitges, Spain to play soccer.

Wolfers said that her parents signed her up to play soccer when she was five years old.

“My parents both played when they were younger, so I don’t remember them ever asking [me if I wanted to play],” she said.

Wolfers said that until she was nine, she viewed soccer as just another thing she did, but eventually that changed.

“As I got older and found my own position and place in the game, [soccer] became part of who I was,” Wolfers said.

Wolfes said her passion led her to TOVO Academy to hone her soccer skills in a high-intensity environment.

“There were a lot of people playing [there] from all over the world, from Italy, Japan, and Australia,” Wolfers said.

Wolfers said that the ages of her teammates ranged from 11 to 21. Some played on club teams, some played in college, and some were going pro.

According to TOVO Academy, the goal of the academy is to immerse student-athletes in a footballer’s paradise, a culture that lives and breathes football.

There is value in playing soccer in an international setting to break up the repetitiveness that practicing with the same team and coaches each week can bring, said women’s junior varsity soccer co-captain and sophomore Laine Avagliano. Avagliano’s club team went to Sweden for a tournament two years ago.

“It was just really nice to [see] how similar we are to other countries,” Avagliano said “We are pretty well matched.”

However, Wolfers said that she saw differences in the way players train in Spain.

“It’s a different training method than most American coaches,” Wolfers said. “It’s kind of based off of the FC Barcelona dynamic and the way they do things.”

The training expands on basic ideas such as space, time, and distance, Wolfers said. Going through this training process changed how she viewed playing soccer.

“It’s a lot more about playing where the space is, how you work as a team, and awareness,” Wolfers said.

Wolfers said that she also learned not to panic and can apply this, among the other things she’s learned, to her life when faced with difficult situations that seem to have no solutions.

While Wolfers said that she learned a lot, she worried about missing most of the high school soccer season.

However, Avagliano said that Wolfers fit into the team very well.

“It was really a smooth [transition],” she said. “It was a gain of another really good player.”

Avagliano said that Wolfers is very motivated.

“She seems really excited to get back into [playing] and get back into [our] routine,” Avagliano said.

Wolfers said that her routine was turned upside-down while in Sitges and she had to adjust to a lot of new things.

“The time change was really different,” Wolfers said. “It’s like the worst possible time change you could have. Basically the only time [people in California] are awake is when [people in Spain] are asleep.”

Wolfers said that it was hard for her to communicate with her parents and teachers back in Piedmont while she was away. In addition Wolfers had to put her Spanish skills to the test.

“All the kids spoke English, but some of the teachers and coaches only spoke Spanish,” Wolfers said.

Still, Wolfers said that it was hard for her to connect with the other kids at first.

“No one really likes Californians other than Californians,” she said.

Nevertheless, Wolfers said that she was able to meet people from all over the world, including some Californians and still stays in touch with some of her closest friends.

After Wolfers returned to Piedmont, people were pleasantly surprised to learn she had attended TOVO Academy, said women’s junior varsity head soccer coach Marcus Watson.

“I didn’t even know about Zoe doing it,” Watson said. “She told me she was going to Barcelona, she said for school. I had no idea it was for soccer.”

Coming back to Piedmont, Wolfers said that she is planning to play soccer throughout high school and through college if possible. Even if she can’t, she will always remember the lessons she learned through soccer and the friends she made at TOVO Academy.