This week’s Sports article features an interview with Carly W., a prominent participant in Redman athletics. She is a track and field athlete as well as an outstanding soccer player, and is currently the captain of Western Canada High School’s senior girls’ soccer team.
Maria C.R.: Tell me about yourself
Carly W.: I am a grade twelve student at Western Canada High School, and I am captain of the girls’ soccer team. I play sweeper, which is the last defender back. Also, I run track and field. As well as playing soccer, I also coach soccer. Next year, I want to take a year off, then afterwards attend the University of Western Ontario.
MCR: When did you start playing soccer?
CW: I started playing when I was five years old, just in a small community league. Back then I didn’t really enjoy it, so I stopped playing until I was ten. I’ve been playing ever since. However, this year I have decided not to play club soccer, only school soccer.
MCR: Why is that?
CW: Even though I still love soccer, I have decided to take on track full-time. It was a tough choice!
MCR: What was your most memorable school soccer game?
CW: Last year, during school soccer, we were playing William Aberhart. It was a regular season game, but they were one of our biggest competitors. It was really close, but we won in the end. This game is memorable because I was playing defence and I got knocked over inside of our box. I was so stressed because I feared that I might cause a goal, so rather than try to get up, I launched my body in front of the other player’s foot to block her shot! Luckily, the girl backed off and my teammate swooped in and took the ball away from her. I’m just thankful that I walked away without a broken nose, or worse!
MCR: How about the worst soccer game?
CW: This one’s easy: City Finals this year. It was probably the hardest moment of my athletic career. I went in thinking “they’re tough competition, but we can win if we work hard.” We were playing against Ernest Manning [High School]. As defence it’s hard, because often times your mistakes will cause goals. At the beginning of the game, I made a mistake that resulted in a goal. Immediately, I became rattled. Unfortunately, things just went downhill from there. We couldn’t seem to get a goal, and I started to worry too much about how the other girls were playing rather than doing my job. Consequently, I lost focus, and two more goals were scored. It was fifteen minutes into the game, and the score was already three to zero for Manning. Seeing how frustrated and panicked I was, the coach pulled me out of the game. As team captain and a player who usually plays full games, this shattered my confidence and made me even more nervous. However, it made me realize how bad of a state I was in, and that I had to calm down in order to set an example for my teammates and get back in the game.
MCR: What did you take away from this experience?
CW: I learned that you can’t put a ton of pressure on yourself because it will shake your confidence and ruin your focus. I also learned that while it’s important to be aware of how your teammates are doing, your main focus should be your own game, and how you’re playing, not how they’re playing.
MCR: How was your experience as a member of the WCHS girls’ soccer team?
CW: In club soccer, I had been playing with the same girls since I was in grade six. Also, my soccer club was never very serious. Thus, it’s fun and challenging to be a part of a team that plays at a high level, with teammates who work their butts off every game. I love getting to be a leader, and getting to bond with a whole new group of girls.
MCR: What’s your favourite soccer team?
CW: Manchester United!
