By Lawren Miller

Casper College Women’s Soccer Team is full of determination, or in other words ‘Grit.’ To be a college athlete, mindset and determination is everything, and for the Lady Thunderbirds it’s no different. Hard work earns rewards when there’s homework, practice, class, and extracurricular activities involved. The women’s soccer team engrains this idea into each of their players. 

Freshman women’s soccer player Alora Taylor said, “Soccer is about confidence, grit, and teamwork — and those are things I’ll carry with me no matter what I do.” Sports are more than just something one does; it’s lessons, perseverance, and goal setting. It becomes part of a student-athlete’s identity for life.

Athletes are built up from people who have some experiences in the field. Assistant Coach Jocelynn Norcross spoke about the team. She said, “We’re a family more than a team. It’s always our family against their team.” 

Family. A group that provides reliability. Not to mention an almost perfect season this last fall, the team won or tied almost all their games until an unexpected and devastating forfeit counted as a loss against them. 

“We hadn’t lost any games all season, even though we tied some — but then we had to forfeit one because an ineligible player played. That was really unfortunate, and it changed everything for us” Taylor stated. 

Even in the face of disappointment the team stayed strong in its sixth season. The program started in 2020. 

“We’ve been the best team in the region since we started the program,” Norcross stated, talking about the success of teams that have come and gone at CC.

Many student athletes juggle over other struggles of life in the background that adds to the pressure of the game they play.

Taylor explained it’s not just the game on the players mind but balance. 

“It was hard to balance homework and school. You have soccer that you have to do… you got to grind.” 

Norcross added her thoughts. She said, “Some take a semester or two to kind of figure out that balance because it’s not quite like high school.”

The players also face the prospect of both mental and physical pain. 

In players those physical and mental pains can be linked to the same issues. These can result in changes that the players don’t necessarily want.

Taylor is no stranger to the physical and mental pain that comes with the demanding game of soccer.. She deals with a condition called patellofemoral syndrome that makes playing extremely painful. Patellofemoral syndrome is a common overuse injury of the knee.

“It was super uncomfortable. I wasn’t able to train for a while. It was super hard mentally… My legs just couldn’t keep up. My body couldn’t keep up.” Taylor said.

Norcross sympathizes with the women on the team because as she said, ‘they’ve got pretty strict schedules’ and ‘they’re not a typical student.’ 

Members of a group or team get stronger because of life experiences they’ve already had. This prepares them for what could come, making a lasting impact on their lives.

Taylor said, “I’ve learned that grit, confidence, and teamwork aren’t just for soccer — they carry over into everything you do in life.” 

True ‘Grit’ changes the force one leads into life, even after an athlete leaves the field.