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In My Words // Siena Ruelas

By Washington Huskies

July 10^th, 2018

Hello, my name is Siena Ruelas. I am a junior goalkeeper from Downey, California, a suburban town outside of Los Angeles. I am the oldest child and have a younger brother. Coming from a Mexican and Puerto Rican background, soccer was a big part of my life and my family. Our family was very close: my father is one of 11 children and my mother is one of three, so weekends were always about family and soccer. From parties, barbecues, bingo nights, and gatherings, my family has helped to shape who I am today.

I consider myself to be a great cook. If you ask the team who makes the best guac and tacos: I’m your girl. I also like to think of myself as a stylish person who likes to be unique and tries to be artsy now and then, but for the most part will be seen in yogas and sneakers just chilling out. You will always catching me eating something cause snacks are life. Usually in my free time I am in the zone, either studying or working out, riding solo.

Making my way into my third year at UW, I am working on my public health degree, with aspirations to become a physical therapist. All in all, my dream is to work with athletes like myself to help them endure injuries that prevent them from competing and doing what they love.

When I started writing this, in all honesty it took me a while to think of what I wanted to talk about and what is the best way possible to give a little glimpse of my life to those who support and enjoy Husky Soccer as much as I do.

At the age of three and a half I was diagnosed with Type One or Juvenile Diabetes. Being the only diabetic in my family and friend group, that was something that has and will always be difficult to manage for me. Through the years of struggles managing my blood sugar levels, eating the right things meaning avoiding my weakness of sweets, being responsible and independent have become second nature to me.

I began playing soccer at the age of eight after watching my cousin Sebastian play in AYSO. Amazed with the sport, I decided I wanted to play. Once the next year’s sign-ups arrived my parents surprised me by putting me on a team. Furious and not wanting to play, I demanded that I be taken off the team since I did not want to play this glorious sport. I am forever grateful for my parents, who did not listen to me, because their decision to keep me in was the best thing they could have done for me. After years of trying to find a passion and something I loved, soccer was it.

In terms of my diabetes, the sport taught me that I could apply my health and life lessons into sport. Regardless of a good or bad day with my blood sugar, I could always count on soccer to be an outlet for me at the end of the day. Most importantly I was viewed for my talents and passion for soccer rather than being diabetic kid, which I was classified at school.

When I think about my journey so far at UW, there is one moment that comes to mind. Let’s flash back to my freshman year: it was an early morning weekday during the end of winter quarter. I had just finished my lift and decided to hop on the treadmill for some cardio. Deciding to run my usual interval workout, I was distracted watching the other athletes around me and was involved in my own thoughts, like how much I loved running and enjoyed sweating profusely in a nice toasty gym.

Towards the end of my interval sprints, fatigued and overall just feeling dead, I prepared to finish my last rep of my set of runs. Pushing stride-by-stride, I counted down the remaining seconds until I would hop off the treadmill to end my set. With my luck, my left calf decided that it was an appropriate time to cramp up as I made my way off the treadmill. Half-jumping and half-falling into the air, I foolishly decided to grab the rail bars. Let’s just say: thank goodness I was wearing yoga pants because I then began bouncing off the 9.5 MPH treadmill for several seconds.

During this process I thought, “I got to let go”. When I did I flew about ten feet back to the other side of the cardio deck and face-planted into the ground. On the floor face-down, I could only imagine what a sight my ten seconds of horror appeared to be from the weight room down below. As I got onto my hands and knees I felt a hand grab my shoulder.

“Are you okay what happened to you?” said a friendly voice. As I looked up I was greeted with a worried look by our team strength and conditioning coach Gabby Quiggle. In response I laughed and responded saying I finished my run and wanted to finish it in style. As I gathered myself together and stood up I was hit with utter embarrassment, half of the track and cross-country team were looking up at me including some rowers entering the gym for their lift. The best part was seeing my fellow teammate Amanda Perez laughing on the floor pointing at me.

Although I have had numerous other memories I have made here as a Husky, I always reflect on this one in particular. From other athlete games, spending time with friends, having a good training or making someone’s day, it’s hard to choose just one specific moment. Honestly, I tend to think that this memory defines what my career has been here as a soccer player. As a freshman coming in, my picture of what I thought I would come into and the reality of what I faced where two very different things. If it weren’t for my mental toughness, determination, and ongoing support from friends and family, the passion that I have for soccer would not have been enough to carry me on. You hear that being a collegiate student-athlete at a D-I school is hard and nothing can prepare you for it until you experience it yourself. Once you are immersed into the culture and grind you become apart of it: the struggles, pain, and adversity you face is worth it in the end.

In all honesty, my first season as a freshman wasn’t what I hoped it to be. I was used to playing every club game as the starter on the field, but I learned that the bench was my new best friend. The routine of traveling for all games stopped, as I didn’t make the travel team. At the time it was frustrating and beyond upsetting. Regardless, in every practice and workout, even though I was third string, I used it as my motivation to push myself and be my motivation to keep going.

Over the rest of my freshman year with a major concussion, shoulder, and knee injuries, the goal of earning playing time floated farther and farther away from me. In addition my lack of confidence and disappointment in myself began to translate onto the soccer field. As spring season arrived I was hopeful to get my chance to play and prove myself. For our first game, I was given the chance to play towards the end of the match against Central Washington and did not play to par. As a result, I didn’t see the field again until our last game, where I stepped on and the whistle was called for weather conditions, ending the game. Walking away from my freshman year, I was stricken with the reality of how college soccer works and feared that my ultimate goal would never be reached. That whole year brought me new experiences from being away on my own, not having family close by, and finding myself as a person academically and athletically. I knew that the best was yet to come as long as I kept grinding away to get better as an athlete.

My sophomore year was much more enjoyable, even if it didn’t start that way initially. Entering the season with an undiagnosed knee injury, I was told that I might possibly have torn my MCL. Not being able to run the beep on the first day of preseason and having restrictions while training to begin the season impacted me, and I began to doubt myself. After training and working all summer long to have injured myself, I treated every practice as my last not knowing whether or not I would need to stop as a result of my knee. Once games arrived, I was finally able to have fun at practices and team events, something that had not occurred in a long time. From each passing game, through training with my teammates and being coached by Amy and Lesle, little by little I felt that I was not only getting better but I was gaining confidence in my ability as a player.

While under the wing of the senior Sarah Shimer, I learned to watch her and take away the things she did while in the net. By following her footsteps I not only was able to have a competitive environment to train in, but I was also able to create a strong friendship with her that resulted in pushing one another to be the best goalkeepers for our team. After our season ended I realized that I had the opportunity to fill in some big shoes. Now, being the veteran goalkeeper of the squad, the reality is that my opportunity to play is arriving and I am not going to allow another mistake prevent that from happening.

Throughout this past winter quarter, my teammates had a chip on our shoulder after the end of our past season. We all knew that the new season was approaching and that we would strive to do more and leave an impact on our program. With every lift, run, training, and meeting, our main focus was on preparing our bodies and minds for spring season. As the days slowly passed by with the difficult and physically demanding regime of off-season workouts, our team’s motivation was the light at the end of the tunnel: our first game against the Seattle Reign.

The week prior to our debut match nerves and excitement ran high. After the graduation of our senior class, it’s safe to say we were all unsure of what to expect as a new team. As we sat in our team room, we all anxiously awaited the lineup on game day. After the long haul of work and effort, I earned the start of that game and the following games. Hearing my name called represented much more than myself, it reminded me of the work of my teammates who pushed me, the extra trainings put in, the support of my loved ones and the trust along with belief my coaches had in me. In that moment I thought of my treadmill accident and how it reflects my career so far here at University of Washington.

So why was that treadmill moment such a big deal to me? Well, it represents the overall journey that has become and will be Washington Women's Soccer. The speed of the belt reflects that of the time which has and currently flies by before my very eyes. The buttons that I press on the machine are that of the difficulties that I have faced in which my very own buttons are pressed from time to time. The clock shown on the screen is the remaining time I have left as a Husky and the realization that this opportunity to be a part of this program is limited. My calf cramp represents the hard times from freshman year with how unexpected things always occur in our lives. From bouncing and having few seconds of being tossed like a rag doll this portrays how I have been thrown into a new era of Washington Women’s Soccer.

Luckily, I did not get hurt in any way: my body’s resilience to the incident is highly similar to how I have responded to the obstacles that have challenged my soccer career here. Nevertheless, the concern and aid of Gabby Quiggle poses as an example of the staff here at UW athletics, who strive to help athletes excel and to become not only better on the field but off as well. Even though we work as individuals we are always being watched and cared for, because our successes and failures are theirs too. Even at out lowest points when everything seems to be wrong and failing us the only way to go from there is up.

Entering my junior season, I am excited to lace up my cleats and strap my gloves in for a new adventure. This upcoming season will definitely be one to remember. Since our last spring game against Eastern Washington, all that has been on my mind has been to walk on Husky Soccer Field, gloves in hand, jersey on, with the determination and mindset to win.

In sports, all athletes want to compete and ultimately win. However that is much easier said than done. My goalkeeper coach from my club days always told me that “you can’t buy good goalkeeping skills from Target, you have to work for them,” and life just doesn’t work like that. Whether in sport, school, or life, we must seize the moments where they are given and continue to push ourselves out of our comfort zones in order to realize the goals we seek.

When you have a group of strong young women behind you, who want to accomplish the same goals, the chances to excel are endless. Entering summer vacation, that was one of the main things that kept me going. The opportunity to attend a university like Washington, where I can compete at one of the highest levels, meet new people, have new experiences, and learn life lessons, is priceless. Yet what makes all the pain, exhaustion, frustration, and doubt vanish into the abyss is putting the Washington name across my chest. Even if my uniform makes me look like a human highlighter, or the struggle of putting on tight shorts where I can’t move at the end of the day, I can say that I am proud to be a Husky and I am proud to represent my family, friends, teammates, coaches, and, most importantly, school.

I hope that this article gave you some glimpse into my life as Siena Ruelas, aka Sisi. As I continue dying daily with my fitness packet that looks like a novel, whether I enter my local 24-hour gym ready to out-lift the ridiculous meat heads, going to goalkeeper training where I feel like I’m an old lady with young club keepers, or dancing my way across the soccer field after a game, at the end of the day it is worth it because I am pursing my dreams and learning who I am in this great big world. So even if you fly off a treadmill like I did, remember to get up and keep going because we as individuals and soccer players have much to live for, especially looking onto the horizon where the fall season is rapidly approaching. May your anticipation be as great as mine because this fall I know that I am ready to show to those reading and others that I’m not just another goalkeeper between the pipes but am a mighty woman of purple and gold.