I played soccer for 11 years, and was competitive for five or six. I’m on varsity soccer, and ran track for two years. This will be my third year and I’m also on varsity. I also played baseball for 10 or 11 years, and played volleyball for five years. I don’t play either of those sports anymore. 

I don’t even remember why I started soccer. I was very young, but I kept playing because it’s my favorite sport, and it’s the one sport that I’ve continued to play for my whole life. I like being able to play a wide variety of positions, and the game is always moving. I’ve played all positions, but I am mainly a goalie, as I’m not afraid to dive and get kicked in the stomach to save a ball. 

It’s a personal mindset of mine to be outdoors and be healthy and always be active. But I definitely do come from a family that encourages a lot of movement and sports. My parents are very supportive, so that’s helped.

For me the most impactful sport was baseball. I was one of the two girls, so I think that helped me grow up tougher because I had to be around boys. I started playing because my brothers played, and my parents wanted to sign me up. But I found it fun so I wanted to keep playing. 

It’s difficult to balance school and sports. Especially for track meets, that can take anywhere from three to like six hours after school. You pretty much don’t have time to do anything. Soccer games especially when they’re at six o’clock, it’s smack in the middle of the evening so there’s no time to do homework before and little time to do homework after

This year, I had to give up club soccer because of AP classes, outside research, and color guard being too big of a time commitment. It was just too much and although I love club soccer, I’m already doing school soccer. I was kind of heartbroken about it for a little bit but, you know, we all have to make sacrifices sometimes. I realized I can’t do everything and it’s okay to let things go. It’s hard to give up things like that you love but sometimes you just have to do it and that’s what makes you stronger.