Senior Sophie Yoakum has played varsity tennis and soccer all four years of high school at Collegiate. Currently the center striker on the soccer team, Yoakum said this season the team is young, but they have great chemistry on and off the field.
“This year we have a mostly new team, but we have such a great chemistry. I love that this team not only gets along but enjoys each other’s company and makes the overall experience very fun. Also, all of my teammates put in the work for each other, I feel that everyone is selfless and puts in the work for the team’s success,” said Yoakum. “At Collegiate the coaches and staff make a clear effort to make every person who goes out for a sport to make their experience enjoyable. Personally, my coaches that I have played for have helped maintain a balance between my academic and athletic career which has helped reduce the stress that student athletes sometimes feel.”
Academics play the most important role for Yoakum as she prepares for life after high school.
“After I graduate, I plan on going to the University of Kansas to study and earn a degree in Business Economics,” said Yoakum. “Academics have been the most important part of my high school career and Collegiate has made it their priority to help students on their academic path. This year I have enjoyed taking a physics class as well as a statistics class.”
Yoakum said she’s enjoyed being an student-athlete at Collegiate.
“My favorite part of being a student athlete at Collegiate would be the coaches who have coached me, Dave Hawley and Jillian King, and the bond I have created with my teammates Paige Henry and Emma Truxal who I have been playing soccer with since a young age. My most memorable moment of being a student athlete would be the first soccer game I played my freshmen year when I scored a hat trick against Circle to beat them 3-2,” said Yoakum. “This summer I plan on working at Collegiate as a tennis instructor for young kids at coach Hawleys tennis camp. I also plan to stay active and prepare for college.
