Woodburn High School’s new girls’ soccer coach is no stranger to the Bulldog jersey.

Alyssa Padilla, the former all-state and all-conference Woodburn centerback who led the girls team to a state championship in 2019, has been named the girls soccer varsity head coach.

Padilla grew up playing soccer in local recreation and club teams and played on the varsity team all four years of her tenure at Woodburn High School. After graduating, Padilla played at Chemeketa Community College and later helped coach there.

By 2023, Padilla was back at Woodburn High, but this time on the sidelines. She first led the junior varsity team and then moved into the varsity assistant role last season.

This year, when the head coaching position opened up following the departure from the program of beloved former coach Andrea Fox, Padilla was ready. She’s bringing high expectations to the team and believes the group has the talent and chemistry to make a deeper run this season.

“ We have a lot of strong players, and they all somewhat know each other from different teams and things, so the connection is definitely there,” Padilla said. “ I have an idea of my defense, midfielders and strikers that I have to work with. I’m still waiting to see on what I like to call my ‘game changers’ which is like who am I going to pull up from JV, who is going to decide to step up or take that spot.”

One of Padilla’s biggest motivations behind her coaching is female empowerment, something she learned from Fox, her former coach and mentor.

“I want to honor her legacy,” Padilla said. “She always centered and emphasized empowering women, and that’s something I will always carry with me. She really instilled ‘you are strong leaders; you don’t need to make yourself small. You need to make your presence known.’”

This confidence is what Padilla aims to build her team culture around, and she’s not shy about sharing her ambitions for the season.

“I think, honestly, we have a shot at being league champs… . I have big goals for them so it’s just getting them to see, hey, you are capable of these things, and this is what we’re shooting for,” Padilla said. “But it starts with the little things, like holding each other accountable, being there for each other and being disciplined.”

The accountability and positive energy that Padilla brings are translated into her coaching style, which she describes as energetic and focused on growth through mistakes.

“My big thing is that I feed off of good energy. So, even if you make a mistake, I ask what are you going to do to fix it? I don’t care that you messed up, what I care is what you do afterward,” Padilla said. “ So you missed that ball, you go get it back. We messed up our shape, let’s reset.”

While young for a head coach, the 22-year-old sees her age as an advantage in connecting with her players. She and the other coaches with the high school program played together when they were in school and hope their experience shows players that soccer is not only about competition, but also these lifelong connections.

“ Being able to step in this role is pretty amazing, and I’m super, super grateful for the opportunity,” Padilla said. “I love seeing these young women develop confidence and their maturity. When they come in as freshmen and they’re scared of everything and then seeing them as seniors becoming leaders, it’s amazing.”

Summer trainings are already underway at Woodburn High School, running from 8-10 a.m. Tuesdays through Thursdays, but Padilla says it’s not too late to try out for the team.

The Bulldogs’ season opens with a jamboree Aug. 28.