For Coppell sophomore defender Kylie Guerrero, soccer is a way of life.
Those quiet moments in the huddle before a game starts is when her excitement builds.
Then the whistle blows.
“There’s no moment that’s too much pressure for her, no moment where she panics,” Coppell girls soccer coach Craig Able said.
Guerrero played on a T-ball team when she was 4. Her coach converted the team into a soccer team, and her parents became excited at the prospect of their daughter playing soccer.
“You could just tell that she was having so much fun,” her father Michael Guerrero said. “She was just out there running and smiling the entire time.”
Aside from playing for the Cowgirls, Kylie plays club soccer outside of school for the Solar Soccer Club, one of the top soccer club teams in the nation. She also plays on the United States Youth National Team.
“When I turned 8years old and joined club, I haven’t turned back since,” Guerrero said.
The transition to club soccer did not come without difficulty, as her father noticed.
“I think she struggled a bit because she was joining a more competitive team, they were playing boys, playing older age groups, and you could tell that she was struggling a little bit to keep up and learning a lot of different positions,” Mr. Guerrero said. “It was hard for her, but she never gave up and she kept practicing and working as hard as she could.”
Despite all her success, Kylie has remained humble and a team player.
“She definitely doesn’t have an ego,” Able said. “She’s very willing to work, adjust and help the team work.” 
As the only freshman on the Class 6A state champion varsity team last year, Able has seen Kylie’s confidence grow.
“I think she’s become even more self assured of who she is as a player,” Able said.
Kylie hopes to play soccer beyond high school, and that dream does not come without sacrifices.
“My mom will stay with my three younger brothers and my dad is travelling out of the country and other states,” Kylie said. “I’ve had to sacrifice a lot of time with my friends, and I’ve missed birthday parties and I’ve missed graduations for my siblings. It’s just really hard.”
However, Kylie finds worth in these sacrifices for her future, where she hopes to continue to play soccer beyond high school.
“Soccer is really important to me because it’s something that I grew up doing,” Kylie said. “It’s always been a dream of mine to go pro, and I do think that the pro game is definitely changing. It’s growing for younger girls like me, so I want to help with that and help grow for other people.”
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