Woods strikes early and often

From the moment she started playing soccer at age 6, Ilanna Woods had a vocal yet knowledgeable critic: Her dad, Marcus, who coached Woods her entire life up until the last couple of months.
Woods vividly remembers sitting down with her father after every match to go over tape or video, listening as her play was critiqued at every turn.
“He’d press the pause button every 10 seconds,” said Woods, the San Benito High senior forward who has a team-high 12 goals entering Wednesday’s contest against Pajaro Valley (the result wasn’t available when this edition went to press). “He’d point out my mistakes, and of course I sometimes wondered if it was a bit much. But my dad knew what he was talking about.”
It’s easy to see why Woods is the Haybalers’ best pure goal scorer. Whenever the ball is played her way, Woods is a threat to score because of her ability to turn on a swivel and unleash a shot in an instant.
Nowhere was that more apparent than in San Benito’s 0-0 draw against Gilroy on Feb. 7. The 5-foot-6 Woods single-handedly outshot the Mustangs, 5-4, routinely unleashing shots with defenders surrounding her.
Even though Gilroy played solid defense, Woods nearly scored on all five of her shots — they all went just wide or over the crossbar. Every time, Woods needed just a sliver of daylight and a dribble or two before getting off a shot.
“Ilanna is awesome,” Balers coach Becky Bonner said. “She’s tenacious and an offensive powerhouse in that she doesn’t need much space to create a scoring opportunity. Not many players have that type of ability.”
San Benito entered Wednesday’s action at 8-4-3 overall and 6-1-2 in the Monterey Bay League’s Gabilan Division, one point behind first-place Salinas, which has played one less league game.
In addition to her speed and agility, Woods routinely displays tremendous footwork, perhaps a byproduct from being a competitive dancer up until her sophomore year.
Prolific goal scorers have plenty of things in common, including tremendous instincts, powerful shots and the ability to see where the ball is headed before the pass is made.
In one sequence against Gilroy late in the second half, Woods sprinted to the goal a second before one of her teammates sent a nice through ball that sliced through Gilroy’s defense.
Woods picked up the dribble just above the top of the 18-yard box before unleashing a shot that went just wide left. Afterward, Woods was hardly frustrated that none of her shots found the net — she knows it’s her job to keep on attacking the opposing team’s goal.
Woods has played striker for most of her career, including with Santa Clara Sporting, a competitive travel club team. However, Woods didn’t play forward at San Benito until her junior season, when Bonner took over the varsity coaching job. Woods’ solid senior campaign has been a rewarding one.
As a sophomore, Woods played only half a season after suffering a sprained ankle. Now everything has come together for Woods, who often spends time visualizing the night before a game. It’s a practice that many pro athletes today are taking up.
“I’m often thinking about how I can improve, and then picturing the ways I’m going to do it,” she said. “I’m definitely visualizing ways I can score and help the team win.”
For Woods, her mental imagery has translated into on-field success.