Chula Vista native Victor Vargas has roots that run deep at Hilltop High School, his alma mater. He is also planting new roots at Castle Park High School where he serves as head coach of the girls soccer team.
Let us back track for a moment.
Vargas played two seasons of varsity soccer while attending Hilltop High School.
“We didn’t have JV yet when I was in school, so I didn’t play varsity until my junior and senior years (at Hilltop),” Vargas recalled. “Hilltop and Bonita were the powerhouses at that time.
“After high school, I went to Southwestern College and started a family at 20 years old. I was young and gave up playing soccer to focus on finishing college and being a young father to my eldest Erik.”
It’s time to fast forward a few years.
“When Erik started Hilltop High School I went to tryouts to meet the soccer coach. By surprise it was longtime friend John Salts. John asked me to be his assistant coach and I had the pleasure of working with John for nine years. After nine years I was ready to take over my own program and the Castle Park girls soccer job was open. I got the coaching job.
“I soon moved over to teach at Castle Park after teaching in San Ysidro for 12 years.”
The Lady Trojans have been making history ever since then, winning a CIF championship in 2015.
But it took some hard work to get there. Hilltop defeated Castle Park, 12-0, in Vargas’s first year on the bench.
“That result had a huge impact on me,” Vargas noted. “That was the day I decided I needed to work very hard to make Castle Park competitive.”
The last three years, Vargas has had the pleasure of coaching his Lady Trojans against his daughter Araceli’s Lady Lancers.
Araceli had grown up around soccer, watching her brothers play at Hilltop since she was 5. It was destined that she would play soccer, too.
She is now in her third year as a varsity player and is vying for playing time on a strong team as a center midfielder.
Victor Vargas coached his daughter with the Rebels Soccer Club for three years. “Once your kids get to a certain age, it is time to let them go and let them experience other coaches,” the CPHS coach said.
“She continues to play for Rebels. Many of her teammates at Hilltop are good friends and come to our house and we talk soccer. Also, I know a lot of the Hilltop parents through soccer as well.
“It’s a family feud but it’s friendly. We all know that this game is big in the Vargas house, but we don’t take it too seriously. The winner this year will be getting a dessert.”
Daddy won’t be buying this time, however.
The teams had played three matches over the last two seasons with Araceli owning a 1-0 win and 0-0 and 1-1 draws against her father.
That changed on Wednesday after Castle Park edged visiting Hilltop, 1-0.
Maday Pablos scored on a direct free kick near the end of the first half and goalkeeper Sharon Montoya blocked a penalty kick in the second half to preserve the shutout victory.
“It’s gone from a negative 12 to this,” the elder Vargas beamed. “Our goalkeeping was strong and we defended well. This was a big win for us and not just from a personal side. Hilltop has always been the power house and the team that (usually) won league. We’re obviously excited.”
Castle Park improved to 3-2 in league play, 11-3-3 overall, while Hilltop dropped to 1-1-2 in league play, 6-6-4 overall.
Mar Vista, which edged host San Ysidro by a 1-0 score on Wednesday, currently holds the league lead with a 2-0-2 record (6-3-6 overall).
There’s plenty of soccer still to be played this season.
Hilltop hosts Sweetwater on Friday, Jan. 19, at 3 p.m. while Castle Park next plays at Southwest on Jan. 24 at 3 p.m.
In upcoming games, Mar Vista hosts Hilltop on Jan. 26 and also hosts Castle Park on Jan. 31.
Hilltop hosts Castle Park on Feb. 9.
Southwest, which defeated San Ysidro to win its division at December’s Bonita Vista tournament, also rates to be in the mix for the league banner with a 2-1-0 league record (5-4-1 overall). The Lady Raiders visit Mar Vista this Friday for an evening match at 6 p.m.
Southwest shut out visiting Sweetwater, 4-0, on Wednesday as Paulina Raygoza earned honors as player of the game.
