Having grown up with a mom who played basketball, it was no shock that Cydnie Gutierrez ‘19 was introduced to the sport at a very young age. At just five years old, she began to compete.

Gutierrez competed with the “Basketball Club 805” team for many years. She now competes as the point guard for Foothill’s very own varsity girls’ basketball team.

According to Coach Jason Edgemond, Gutierrez is “very coachable” and she follows through with everything that the coaching staff asks her to do. He feels that she’s a “hard worker” and that she adds to the team’s ability to work as a cohesive unit.

“She works very well with the rest of the team, all of the players and coaches have much respect for her abilities and her work ethic,” Edgemond said.

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He believes that her hard work and ability to be an example “both on and off the court” has helped her and the team improve. Edgemond feels that she has grown as a leader for the team and as a Point guard on the court.

“Cydnie is a lockdown defender and takes pride in shutting down the girls she is guarding,” he said. “She has improved in the area of protecting the ball on offense and making sure that the team gets into the correct offensive set that we are running.”

“Best friend” and teammate Aleksa Page ‘19 believes that one of Gutierrez’s biggest strengths is her “hardworking and aggressive attitude.”

“She’s very aggressive all the time, she goes for the ball every time and is always on the floor,” Page said.

Page and Gutierrez met while playing softball together while at a young age and have remained friends ever since. The pair now plays basketball together and considers themselves best friends.

Gutierrez competes for both the Foothill girls’ basketball and softball team. While she loves both sports, she believes that they are “fun in different ways.”

“In basketball, it’s more physical, […] there’s a lot of conditioning going into it and softball it’s more mental, you gotta think more in the game,” she said.

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Gutierrez’s favorite part about playing basketball is the “team aspect.” She believes that “you have to be as a team to win, it’s not just a one person show.”

While Gutierrez feels that she struggles with her confidence during games, she feels that she gives “100 percent” effort each game. Page believes that this constant effort is why she stands out on the court.

“I think she’s very dedicated and she’s very hard working all the time and she gives 100 percent whenever she can,” said Page.

“So I think that’s the best quality about her, is that she always tries and never really gives up […] and hard work pays off.”