“No one says life is gonna be easy, sometimes you are going to have to work through the adversity. That makes you a better person, I think.”
Rachel Lee, Senior, Duchesne
Its seems the Creator of the universe smiled broadly upon Rachel Lee, a senior from Duchesne high school, at a very young age. “I’ve been playing soccer as long as I can remember, at least since I was 4 years old,” shares the leading scorer of head coach Dave Thumer’s Lady Pioneers. “By the time I was in the 3rd grade I was playing select soccer and I have never looked back.”
“Rachel is a very special player,” suggests Thurmer, “I would go so far as to say she is probably in the top four players in the entire region. She has it all, she can defend, she dribbles very well, and of course her ability to score is, well, very impressive.” So impressive that Illinois State in Bloomington, IL has already offered Rachel a full ride to play soccer for them in the Missouri Valley Conference starting next season. “Finance, I am going to study Finance,” says Lee.
Rachel will be the third of John and Laura Lee’s three children to have soccer pay for their college education. “My sister Michelle played at SIUE and my brother John played at McKendree College,” proudly tells Lee, “we get it from our dad, who played at Rosary and Riverview Gardens; my mom, well, she’s not too athletic,” she explained.
Maybe not athletic, but certainly a worthy role model. “My parents have prepared me for life, it just so happens I play soccer,” Rachel testifies, “my parents have taught me values, values to live my life by, and most importantly they have taught me a work ethic – if you’re going to do it, do it right,” she says. Thumer concurs, “She is a very talented player, no doubt about it, but she takes nothing for granted and will not be outworked, period,” he shares, “and she is a natural leader. I’m not gonna say she is one of those who leads by example, if one of her teammates needs a verbal boost Rachel is not afraid to tell them. No doubt about it, the younger girls look up to her.”
Rachel likes to eat, and giving her a credit card with unlimited credit at a restaurant could be a dangerous thing. “Unlimited, huh,” she first says. ‘Well, no doubt I would head to Outback. And no doubt I would start with a blooming onion. After that we would have to see. I do like to eat. I think I would order a steak dinner and their chicken breast dinner. If you’re paying for it I will eat it,” she shares.
To nominate an athlete contact Mike McMurran at mcmurran@charter.net or 314.280.9189
