The swoosh of a ball. The slap of hand in an effort to block. Varsity girl’s soccer goalie and freshman Chantal Alexander lunges for the ball as the opposing team attempts to score. 

Alexander started playing soccer in fourth grade for a team her father coaches, but took a break for a while before starting again two years ago. She initially started off by playing as a center before her father transitioned her to a goalie because of her fearlessness for the role. 

“Ever since I was young, I had this kind of aggression,” Alexander said. “I wasn’t ever scared of the ball coming at my face. Unlike other people, I would volunteer to be the goalkeeper when no one else wanted to because I wasn’t scared of failing.”

Since goalies are very likely to get injured and collide with the ball in many different ways, they need to be brave, according to Alexander. Alexander also employs other characteristics, such as her perseverance and persistence, that make her a good goalie.

“I don’t get completely down on myself when I mess up, and I know when I mess up,” Alexander said.

But even with all these strengths, playing for the school team is still a challenge for Alexander. For one, she is surrounded by people who are around her age on her father’s team. But on the school team, she is around people much older than her. 

“From my dad being my coach, I get a different perspective on the team because he tells me what he’s thinking, and then I get to understand where he’s coming from,” Alexander said. “But, with the high school team, there are some things I’m a little confused about.”

Thus, Alexander has come to rely on the upperclassmen to help and support her with the transition to the school team’s new environment. 

“They know when I mess up and they push me through it and they don’t get too down on me when that happens,” Alexander said. “They always make sure that I know that I did my best.” 

Alexander’s transition revealed an important quality about the team: the personalities and attitudes team members had when helping her gain confidence along the way. 

“A little timid and nervous at the beginning, but she has really grown into the position,” head girls soccer coach Joshua Stringer said. “It’s one of our things as a team where we need to support new players to the school, new players to the program, and as a freshman, I’d say that is something we really take into heart. So the leadership from the team and just the quality of the personalities of the players that we have, that really allowed her to gain confidence and she has grown in every game and every training session.”