by Dan Rosenfield
For many, sports are a minor pastime, but for others, they mean the world. Club Soccer Captain, Junior Gabby Villermaux, embodies this with her love for soccer.
“Just dropping soccer when I got to college was not really an option for me,” Villermaux said.
Being a captain was always a major goal for Gabby, even throughout high school. Although she did not get the role last year, she waited patiently and eventually, everything she worked so hard for came true.
“Being a captain has always been a goal of mine,” Villermaux said. “I wanted to be captain of my high school team very badly. I was so fortunate to be able to make the club team and ever since I’ve joined, I’ve always wanted to be the captain and last season I ran to be captain and didn’t get it, but the captains that did get it did an awesome job, and now that one of our captains is graduating, I’m taking her position as captain and I’m so excited to have that responsibility and opportunity next season.”
Responsibility is something you need to be able to handle as an athlete, especially as captain. Gabby has to run practices and be the coach during games. Even with the demanding schedule of a student, she still always makes time for the game she loves.
“I make soccer a priority. Practice is something I look forward to at the end of the night. It is the time that I take away from the classroom and the books,” Villermaux said. “Time management is critical but 100% possible if you prioritize the things in your life that you want to succeed in. Occasionally it can be hard to stay focused and motivated at practice when the semester gets hard. But, as a whole we all want to be successful, get better, and make the most out of our time so it is easy for everyone to put in the work while they are at practice and all work together as a whole to reach our goals.”
Success is something that Gabby has seen in her first two years with the squad. The postseason is separated into the Regional Tournament and the National Tournament. To make Regionals, you have to be in the top two for most points out anyone in your bracket, that being three points for a win, one point for tie and no points for a loss. At Regionals, if you are a finalist, you quality for Nationals and the team was able to do that Gabby’s freshman and sophomore seasons but did not qualify for Regionals this past fall.
“Last year we didn’t even make it to the Regional tournament, so that’s definitely our first step this year is to make it there, and then hopefully to Nationals as well, my senior season,” Villermaux said.
The Fall season is just around the corner, which means games every weekend, and Gabby and the rest of the team will be ready for that challenge.