For The Tribune
When Liz Davis entered Seymour High School, she planned on being a two- or three-sport athlete throughout her career.
Her résumé reflects that plan, as she played soccer for four years, tennis for two, was a diver for two and ran track for one year.
“I planned on staying active throughout my high school career,” she said. “It just helps me balance my time more while I’m in school.”
During her varsity soccer matches, Davis played in the middle of the field or on defense.
“I rotated between center midfielder and outside mid, along with going back to defense,” Davis said.
“In the center of the field I worked on switching the ball from side-to-side, and from outside mid looking in to cross the ball, and on defense just moving up as a unit.”
In games, Davis enjoyed marking up on the opposition.
“It brings a lot of fun to the game,” she said. “It allows you to do stuff in that sport that you can’t do in most other sports, because it is a physical sport. It allows you to be aggressive, but still being fair throughout the whole game.”
With 11 players on the soccer field, Davis said communication and teamwork were the keys to success on the soccer field.
“Teamwork is so important, moving up the field and staying together, holding ourselves accountable to one-another and letting each-other know that we’re there on the field, and off the field,” Davis said. “I’ve played with a lot of these girls my whole life. We’ve built that teammate relationship which is really nice.”
During the winter, Davis played indoor soccer.
“We played in the gym and we conditioned, and we played after we conditioned to get in shape for the season to come,” Davis said.
At 4 years old, Davis took the pitch for the first time.
“Its been a long time, but I’m thankful that I did get to do that and that I’m playing soccer now,” Davis said.
“I played with the Cyclones, and with another Seymour (club) team. It introduced us to different teams, and seeing different competition from all over helped, so it gave us an idea of who we were playing and how good the different teams are.”
This spring, the senior will play on the tennis team.
“I’m thinking about playing tennis again,” she said. “I like doubles because I like playing with someone else. It gives me someone to talk to. You have to have communication, and work together and be ready for anything.”
Davis said she feels like there will be a lot of competition for varsity positions in the spring.
“There are a lot of girls coming that see this as their main sport, so it gives them the opportunity to do that, and it still gives me the opportunity to stay in shape and have a good time,” she said.
“I’m looking forward to having a fun time and making memories with those people.”
[sc:pullout-title pullout-title=”At a glance” ][sc:pullout-text-begin]
Parents: Jeff and Tessy Davis
Sibling: Brandon, Adam and Abigail
Sports: Soccer, four years; diviing, two years; tennis, two years; track, 1 year
Plans after high school: Attend college; undecided about playing soccer
Organizations: National Honor Society, Latin Club
Favorite food: Cheeseburger
Favorite singer: Taylor Swift
Favorite movie: “The Notebook”
[sc:pullout-text-end][sc:pullout-title pullout-title=”Q&A” ][sc:pullout-text-begin]
Q: Have you enjoyed your time at Seymour High School?
A: “I’m going to miss it when I leave next year. I’m in four AP classes. The classes are difficult, which is good. It helps you get ready for the years to come and classes that I’m going to take in college, and they’ve prepared me for tests that I’ll have to take and how to study for those tests.”
Q: What’s it like being a student-athlete?
A: “I’ve enjoyed making friends and just building those relationships, and its also helped me focus my time because after a sport you know you have to get your homework done because you don’t have all that free time. I had to manage my time. It forces commitment to that sport, and do you school work.”
Q: What was it like playing at home?
A: “They’re good. We had a lot more people this year than we’ve had in the past. It’s encouraging to see more people coming out to the field and watching.”
[sc:pullout-text-end]