Being a student-athlete comes with a set of challenges, from balancing a social life, schoolwork, and practice, life can be pretty hectic. But why play a sport if it takes up so much of your time? “I’ve been playing club soccer for a super long time and going into freshman year, I knew a lot of girls that were going to play, and I never really had that super fun aspect of soccer ever. It’s always just been straight competitiveness so high school soccer allowed me to play with my friends and it was like a fun environment,” said senior Morgan Wetzel. 

Life as a student-athlete is never easy, juggling five things at once is something many young student-athletes learn how to do early on. “I do running start which has been a really big help for me just because I can then have a job and also help pay for college soccer in my future, and the soccer piece also helps a lot, it can help pay for some of my education. It’s like having that distinct time of I’m going to go study right after soccer practice for two hours rather than go out and play spike ball.” said team captain and Senior Keely Wieczorek. Having a routine seems to be the number one strategy for most student-athletes. “I am a really self-motivated person, and I feel like that’s the only way to be a student-athlete successfully. If I don’t have all of my homework done before going to practice then right after practice I am doing my homework before I do anything else. It just really comes down to discipline,” said Wetzel. 

Camas High School’s state championship title proves how talented and dedicated these girls are at playing soccer. Playing in high school has definitely made an impact on who these girls are today. Team captain and senior Madeline Johnson said, “It changes you a lot whether you realize it or not. Just growing up and having those people that are older than you setting a good example, the maturity is a lot different. Just having that aspect is something that has helped me a lot. It’s a lot of a mental game which is also good or bad depending on how you look at it so it grows you in that aspect of it staying mentally tough through everything because its like game after game after game.”

Seniors this year are definitely still feeling the COVID-19 effects. The recruitment process has been drastically changed due to the inability to play in person for the past two years. “As of right now like I said covid really affected the recruitment process but luckily my class is the last year that’s actually affected by fifth-year players, but I’m planning on playing college soccer as of right now,” Wetzel said.

As some Seniors still feel the aftermath of COVID-19 others have committed. “I committed to Colorado Mesa University and honestly it was kind of the perfect fit for me cause I knew I wanted to go somewhere that had that Northwesty feel to it, and I knew I did not want to go to the east coast that just wasn’t for me, I am just a west coast baby and I love the west coast that’s just how I’ve grown up. Going somewhere that had the mountains, the hiking, and the views, people that like to be outside was really important to me.” Wieczorek said.

Being a Senior comes with its own set of challenges, some know what they want to do others have no clue. “My dream is to open a coffee shop, I’m not sure where, I really want to live in Colorado, so maybe over there. I really love snow so somewhere where it snows is my dream. If I major in something I might go to Clark for two years and major in business and then get my AA and figure out things from there.” Johnson said. Others know exactly what they want to do and where they want to go. Senior Nora Melcher said, “Psychology. That’s not for sure but I want to be a counselor of some sort.” As we near the end of the high school soccer season Seniors reminisce on some of their own personal highlights and favorite memories of last season. Melcher said, “Scoring the winning PK in the state championships last year was amazing, it’s one of those things that you definitely tell your kids about when you grow up. It was so amazing, people I didn’t know that well were super happy for me and I definitely grew closer to them.”

Blocking two PKs in the final game during state or scoring the winning goal are memories these girls will have forever. Wieczorek said, “Oh state, State championship, obviously we got to stay in a hotel, and you just want to get back to it. I won it my Junior year so now I want that feeling again my Senior year. Because that feeling of winning a state championship that went to PKs and I had two saves last year. It is just so surreal, you have all these interviews after the game and you’re crying and hugging each other, this 22 and 0 perfect season that doesn’t happen. I was a big part of it and the team was a big part of it and you just can’t forget about that feeling. You just smile when you think about it because you go back and watch videos and you just remember the feeling and you can’t ever forget about it.” 

Everyone’s high school experience is a time to remember but these girls have made theirs a once-in-a-lifetime experience. As Seniors they are leaving CHS with strong heads on their shoulders that everyone should watch out for. Grit and determination are two things that CHS athletics pride themselves on teaching. Johnson said, “The mental toughness, the ability to keep fighting and working for what you want, and last year, if you keep putting the work in everything, will pay off and it’s going to be good for you.” These girls are some of the strongest women at CHS and will have without a doubt very successful careers and lives.