"It was just a relief to get back home and get back to your normal life," says Clovis Crossfire Coach Erik Hernandez.
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The Clovis Crossfire girls soccer team is finally back in California after a devastating winter storm left them stranded in Texas.
RELATED: 'This whole town is shut down': Brutal winter storm strands Clovis soccer team in Texas
"A warm meal was the first thing that I think I wanted to eat," Hernandez said.
About 20 Central Valley natives, including coach Hernandez, were left stuck in the city of Round Rock after traveling there for a national tournament.
Hernandez says temperatures were frigid and several feet of snow came down. As the storm raged, on stores closed down.
"There was nothing open," he said. "As soon as that snow came down, it was like the town shut down."
Hernandez became even more worried when he ran out of his daily medication. He found an open pharmacy seven miles away, but road conditions were rough.
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"That's all it was, seven miles away and it was a little bit scary because everybody was all over the place, all over the freeway," he said.
After multiple flight delays and cancellations, Hernandez says they were finally able to fly out Saturday.
He and his team were determined to get back home.
"If that got canceled, we were going to see if we could jump on anything to get us back home," he said. "We didn't care if we had to fly to Chicago or somewhere else."
Fortunately, that wasn't the case. Hernandez says everyone made it back safe and sound with memories to last a lifetime.