There was a time when Sydney Brocksmith didn’t believe in herself on the soccer field.
In practice, New Hope High School girls soccer coach Mary Nagy watched with assistant coach Will Taylor as Brocksmith showcased her foot skills that had them believing she would play a key role. But on game days, Nagy wondered where Brocksmith went because she didn’t see the same player who was making such an impact at practice.
“It was like once she got onto the playing field the confidence just went by the wayside because she didn’t have defenders or anybody else coming at her that weren’t her own teammates,” Nagy said.
Nearly two years later, Nagy couldn’t help but grin Tuesday as she talked about the maturation of Brocksmith and how her growth as a player had packed the school’s library. The occasion? Teammates, friends, and family members were on hand to celebrate Brocksmith’s decision to sign a scholarship to play soccer at Jones County Junior College in Ellisville.
“The more she had success on the field, the more the confidence level built,” Nagy said. “She just needed to see she could compete with the others.”
Nagy said Brocksmith, a midfielder/forward, took an important step last season when she realized she could compete with teammates like Samantha Vogel, Abby Wilson, Effie Morrison, and Kayla Smith, who all went on to play soccer in college. In fact, Vogel and Wilson were members of the JCJC women’s soccer team this past season. Nagy said Brocksmith’s confidence has continued to grow this season, which is part of the reason JCJC coach Dolores Deasley offered her a scholarship.
Brocksmith said she was considering JCJC when she received an invitation from Deasley to visit the campus. She watched the women’s soccer team play on the trip and she liked the campus, so she gave a verbal commitment in September. The decision helped her realize a goal she said she first considered as a ninth-grader.
“It is a dream come true,” Brocksmith said. “I am just grateful for my coaches, my friends, and teammates for pushing me to actually believe in myself.”
Brocksmith said there were times when she doubted if she was a college player or if anyone would even watch her play. She said it dawned on her early in the 2014-15 season that she could play at the next level. She credits her teammates for their support and says that trust played an important role in her becoming even more confident in herself.
“I know I didn’t have much confidence my first two years in high school, especially my two years in middle school,” Brocksmith said. “Once I started getting that confidence, that is when my game picked up and my speed picked up, and that is when I stopped freaking out and trying just to get rid of the ball. I am picking my head up now and I know where to go, and I actually want the ball, as opposed to when I was not so confident and I really didn’t want it.”
Brocksmith hopes to continue to develop as a player. She feels the opportunity to concentrate on soccer and to receive more training likely will raise her confidence. She envisions playing in the midfield or at forward in college.
Nagy said Brocksmith’s skills on the ball have flourished as her confidence has grown. She believes the finer points of Brocksmith’s game, like her soft touch and her ability to control the midfield, will get even stronger in college. She thinks back to when Brocksmith was a seventh-grader and how she used to go home and practice her soccer skills in the yard. At the time, those skills often didn’t translate to the games because Brocksmith didn’t believe in herself.
Nagy said she didn’t know what finally triggered Brocksmith to believe in herself like so many coaches and teammates did. She said she likes to think Brocksmith realized she is gifted and talented and that she has what it takes to play at the next level.
“I think it was just an affirmation that yeah, I think everybody might be right. I need to start listening,” Nagy said. “I have worked hard. I see what I can do, but now I have to perform. I think it is just a boatload of things, hearing it from college coaches and her high school coaches, as well as seeing herself on the field and realizing how hard she has worked.
“I think she just needed that affirmation because you don’t believe anything until you believe it yourself. It took us a while to get there, but I am just thrilled she is finally seeing how great she is, and how great she will be.”
Follow Dispatch sports editor Adam Minichino on Twitter @ctsportseditor
Adam Minichino is the former Sports Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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