By Shaun Scott, Puyallup Tribal News
Flashback to the fall of 2023: Chief Leschi Language Arts Teacher Lucas Lunsmann and sophomore Juan Sebastian Flamming discussed how great it would be if Chief Leschi Schools offered a high school soccer team to its student athletes.
Nearly 16 months later, their long-awaited aspirations officially became a reality.
The Chief Leschi Schools athletic program offered a high school boys soccer program for the first time during spring 2025. Since Chief Leschi doesn’t offer a girls team at the school, girls are allowed to compete on the boys squad this season. The first practice was March 3 and the Warriors’ first game was on the road against Tenino on March 18.
Lunsmann, who was hired as the Warriors soccer coach, credits Sebastian Flamming for putting the wheels in motion to create a new athletic program at Chief Leschi.
“Juan was the one who inspired this to happen. We had some chats about why our school didn’t offer soccer. I ended up talking to (Chief Leschi Athletic Director) Scott Halasz about it, and here we are today,” Lunsmann said. “I was impressed with Juan’s stick-to-it mentality. It has given all of these other kids an opportunity to see if they liked the sport of soccer, which is awesome.”
The Warriors have 20 players on their roster and didn’t hold traditional tryouts. Every person who showed up to practice made the team.
“The first week of tryouts we tried to figure out where each of our players play their best on the field. We have three kids who have played before and know where they fit and we have 17 that just discovered a soccer ball exists,” Lunsmann said. “A lot of them found themselves on the soccer field and a lot of confidence grew out of that. They are showing their passion and enjoyment in a sport they’ve never experienced before.”
Sebastian Flamming, who is playing forward this season, was thrilled to see his dream become a reality.
“I just wanted to help spread the opportunity and help provide different options for kids who wanted to try other sports. Soccer is a big thing in the whole entire world,” Sebastian Flamming said.
The standings at the conclusion of the 2025 season aren’t necessarily something Lunsmann is focused on considering they are a first-year program.
“I hate saying this, but I don’t care about the wins and losses at the end of the season. I care they had a good time, learned the game and we can keep this (program) going,” Lunsmann said. “My biggest goal is that 10 years from now, soccer is just like every other sport here at the school.”
One unique aspect of the team is there are five girls on the squad out of the 20 players on the varsity roster.
“Even though we are a boys team, we are coed this year. The reason we have girls on the team is because we don’t offer soccer as a girls sport yet. Since we don’t offer a girls team at the school, WIAA rules say that girls can play on a boys team,” Lunsmann said.
Naiyeli Cruz-Garcia, who won three matches at the Mat Classic state wrestling tournament this past winter, is one of the five girls on the roster.
Assistant coach Hayley Glass said she loves the sport of soccer and everything it stands for. The third grade teacher at Chief Leschi Schools said she is glad to be part of the first soccer team in school history.
“It is really exciting to see how passionate they are about a sport most of them didn’t know how to play about three weeks ago,” Glass said during a March interview. “I love seeing them work together as a team and building school pride. We want to help build a team and eventually build a legacy.”
Assistant coach Manuel Morales has a keen focus on guiding goalies between the posts and is determined to ensure the Warriors’ last line of defense has all the tools necessary in order to succeed. Morales was constantly in motion at practice on March 17, teaching goalies about angles, guarding the near post, guarding the far post and teaching the ground game.
“As a first-year program, our goal is to make sure the interest of our players is always there and to make an impact on our league. We want to make sure they know what that Leschi Warrior spirit is all about,” Morales said. “We’re trying to at least get a couple of wins under our belt and show in a year or two that we are going to be ready to fight for that state championship.”
