Freshman midfielder Melissa Clarke is in her first season with the LSU women’s soccer team and is a player who head coach Brian Lee says has the ability to “make an immediate impact on the program.” Clarke graduated from Norcross High School in Norcross, Ga., with a 4.0 GPA and was named a Soccer Buzz Top 50 Recruit in 2005.
She has earned numerous awards, including the honor of being a U.S. Youth All-American in 2004 and a member of the U16 U.S. National Team the last two years. Clarke hopes to lead the LSU soccer program to the top of the SEC and the nation in her time in Baton Rouge. The entries in this diary are meant to chronicle Clarke’s experiences in her first season as a Division I student-athlete.
Aug. 26, 2005: Diary Entry #2:
The team had its first preseason scrimmage last Friday, and it was time for the team to step up and put all of our training to use. The first five minutes of the game were rather hectic, until about the 20:00 mark when most of the players started to find their groove. The team, including myself, had many great opportunities to score but couldn’t seem to bury any shots. We decided not to play overtime, and the final score was 1-1.
Keeping in mind that this was our first competition against another team, I tried to look at the positive and not dwell on what I should have and could have done. I needed to learn from my mistakes and bounce back for our first big matches against Oregon State and Oregon. Talk about pending excitement!
I feel that with the necessary focus, confidence and positive attitude, this team will rise to the occasion. Even though our scrimmage didn’t go as planned, with a little patience it will all come together. I still feel that we accomplished what we needed to do — work out the kinks and prepare ourselves for the upcoming season. I know without a doubt that we will come to play and give Oregon and Oregon State a run for their money.
Following the first scrimmage was the first week of school. The first couple of days are usually some of the most anticipated and most hectic days, and since this was my first day of college, I knew it would be no exception. I had to wake up about 40 minutes before my wonderful 7:30 a.m. class, and from there I had to go to two other classes. After classes were done, I had to go to the academic center, the training room two or three times, to weightlifting and finally soccer practice, which didn’t start until about 8 p.m. In between, I had to figure out what times I could go to my dorm room in order to change clothes and grab a bite to eat.
During the rush, I didn’t even stop to think that I had finally experienced college life first hand. Let me tell you, it wasn’t as I had imagined. Yes, freedom and liberation are definite pluses, but remembering the seemingly endless lists of things to do is something to get used to. Fortunately for me, the adjustment has just been a matter of organizing and prioritizing — traits that I have picked up in a matter of weeks in my transition from high school to college.
This is just the beginning, and from what I have experienced and seen so far, I know LSU is the place where anyone can have fun and truly live out their college experience. GEAUX TIGERS!!