CHICO — Chico High field hockey forward Isabella Valle-Snyder began her field hockey career just four years ago as a freshman, but the former soccer and softball player has quickly escalated to one of the top scoring players in the Northern Section.
Valle-Snyder leads the section in goals (13) and her five assists give her the lead in points in the Northern Section as well at 31. Valle-Snyder had four goals against Corning on Sept. 1, two goals against Berkeley on Sept. 10, two goals against Bella Vista on Sept. 13, three goals against Red Bluff on Sept. 19, two goals against River Valley on Sept. 20 and has led her team to a 7-4 record in her senior season.
While being double-teamed nearly every game after her hot start to the season, Valle-Snyder has opened opportunities for her teammates to score and because of this, the Panthers’ captain has been named this week’s Chico Enterprise-Record Prep Athlete of the Week.
“To start her senior season, Isabella’s passion for the sport and her innate kindness for others made her a unanimous pick by her teammates as a captain,” said Chico High coach Kim Musselman.
Valle-Snyder called playing field hockey as a new sport in high school refreshing and something she fell in love with quickly. She said her favorite part is her teammates and the team aspect of the game, which she said is absolutely necessary for the team to succeed.
At the start of her field hockey career, Valle-Snyder had a maroon mouth guard to match the Panthers’ colors, and this quickly became a superstition. She quickly convinced herself that she would play terribly without it, but after losing it she used her backup which was pink. Her success continued and her world did not end, and she now says her mouthguards must be a shade of red.
Valle-Snyder had four goals in her junior season in 2021 and asked Musselman what she could work on over the summer break before the start of her senior season to take her game to the next level.
Musselman told her to focus on being in excellent shape, to work on her explosiveness and speed, and to hone in on some difficult shooting skills. Valle-Snyder took it into her own hands as well, deciding to stop playing softball after her sophomore year and devote all of her time to field hockey.
“The three areas she focussed on in the offseason were readily apparent as her work with fellow captain Fiona Nielsen, has made them a powerful offensive duo,” Musselman said. “Nielsen’s great vision of the field as a center midfielder (7 goals, 6 assists), coupled with Valle-Synder’s effective scoring skills as a center forward, has effectively made her rise to the top of the stat charts with 13 goals and three assists.”
In addition to playing at Chico High, Valle-Snyder plays for the newly formed field hockey club the Chico Hotshots, which her mother Claudia Valle coaches. The Chico Hotshots started in February and played their first tournament in March, playing numerous tournaments over the summer. Valle-Snyder worked with the Hotshots and fellow teammates over the summer and made the transition from a midfielder to a forward her senior season. Nielsen moved from forward to midfield, and the two have clicked all season long.
It’s a connection that dates back a long time, as Nielsen and Valle-Snyder have played numerous sports together growing up.
“I’ve always known her mentality as an athlete. I think both of our work ethic and wanting to get better and working together just works,” Valle-Snyder said. “It’s kind of magic, we kind of gravitate towards each other. She finds me on the field and I find her and we work really well together. We both push each other too. I know she’ll do great and she knows I’ll do good, too.”
Musselman called Valle-Snyder a very hard worker, a reliable teammate and a valued leader who was named a unanimous captain her senior season. Nielsen said she believes Valle-Snyder was named captain, “because she can take charge and she’s really good at leading and also being a good role model for the team.”
As a captain, Valle-Snyder recruited the Panthers’ starting goalkeeper Madasia Wathen, which has proved to be a strength of the team this season. Wathen and Valle-Snyder were former softball teammates, and Valle-Snyder believed Wathen would be the perfect fit to fill the need for her field hockey team.
“You see athletes and you just know when they want to play and when they want to be competitive and they’re willing to put the work in,” Valle-Snyder said about Wathen. “I’ve always loved Madasia and she’s always been a team player and she’s really athletic and her work ethic is amazing … Her reflexes are amazing. They truly are. I think softball, all the work, it also helps.”
Wathen has five shutouts in seven victories in her first season playing field hockey, including 17 saves in a 2-1 overtime loss against Davis on Wednesday.
The trust Valle-Snyder has in recruiting what she felt was best for her team has been key.
As for what she’s learned throughout her field hockey career, she believes it is to be aggressive the entirety of the game and the need to work with the entire team. She used to believe a sport like field hockey relied only on forwards and goalkeepers. She’s also learned to come out aggressive straight from the start of the game, rather than waiting for the second half of the game to begin to fight hard.
What she’s learned most though, is to just have fun because that’s when she believes she plays best.
Chico High, which currently sits in second place in the Eastern Athletic League standings, plays next at 5:15 p.m. Wednesday at home against Corning. The Panthers will then travel to Red Bluff on Oct. 19, before closing out their regular season schedule at 5:30 p.m. Oct. 21 at home against cross-town rival Pleasant Valley.
