by Aubrey Cummings

Coming from a family of soccer players, the sport has always been a big part of Scarlett McRae’s life. McRae, a junior at Jeff High, has been playing soccer for almost 10 years now.

“If I had to pick one person that has inspired me the most when it comes to soccer, I would have to say my dad.  Not only has he taught me about soccer my whole life, but he is also there after games to give me feedback, good and bad,” said McRae.

In her three years on the Jeff High girls’ soccer team, McRae has had many  accomplishments.  Her freshman year she was awarded with The Rookie of the Year award. Halfway through her sophomore year she set a record for the most goals scored for the girls´ team and will continue on to add to that record this year.

Earning these accomplishments has put a lot of pressure on McRae to keep being the one of the best.  This pressure has taken a toll on her confidence in her abilities.  In order to overcome her lack of confidence before games she said, “I pray before games and then just go with the flow, remembering that it’s okay to make mistakes and that I don’t have to be perfect.”

McRae isn’t just a part of the Jeff soccer team, but also the Racing Louisville Academy team.  It’s a great opportunity to get her name out there and to be seen by colleges and professional teams.  

After high school McRae plans to go to college for sports physiology. She also wants to play for her college team and eventually for a professional team.

“She makes me want to keep getting better so I can improve and beat her but not in a super competitive way but in the way that we both want to make the team the best it can be,” stated Junior Abi Lemon, a teammate of McRae’s on the field and the mat.

Though soccer is her main sport, McRae is also a part of the girls´ wrestling team.  She started her freshman year when Sian Rogers, a senior on the soccer and wrestling team, convinced her to give it a try, telling her it would help her at soccer.

After a week of wrestling she decided it wasn’t for her but she still wanted to be involved, deciding to be a manager instead.  By doing this she was allowed at the practices and meets. As time passed she realized how much fun her friends were having and decided to rejoin towards the end of that season.  That year she made it to Semi-state with her team before ending the season. She then chose to come back the following year to continue to improve. 

Wrestling coach Danny Struck described McRae as a driven and dedicated player. 

“When given the opportunity Scarlett is always open to improving; she keeps her eye on her goals and does the things that make her and her team better,” he said.

McRae said competing in both sports has helped her compete on the soccer field and on the wrestling mat. 

“Soccer allowed for me to have better and quicker foot work in wrestling that most girls didn’t have, and wrestling taught me how to not get pushed off the ball as easily and stand my ground in soccer.”

McRae has been described as a leader in everything she does.  She strives to be the best person she can be and to help whoever she can.  She looks forward to trying to beat Floyd Central and New Albany, along with helping her teammates score more this soccer season. 

Going into wrestling later this year, she wants to win as many matches as she can and make it to state.

“Coming into both seasons I am excited to win,” McRae explained. “Also to help my teammates succeed and to see how far we can go.”