Four groups of soccer players signed to play at the next level – LaGrange Daily News

The group soccer program includes three men's soccer players (Diego and Luis Merida of Mars Hill and Anthony Patrick of Brewton-Parker) and one women's soccer player (Haley Kitchens-Central Georgia) on Wednesday. signed a contract to play at the level of This means a total of five football players from his 24-year class of the group signed to play in college.

Soccer is a growing sport throughout the United States, especially in group counties. Until the past few years, Gumi High School has been slow to catch up with neighboring schools, but these four players have been the key to turning around Gumi High School soccer.

“About six years ago, when I first took this job, organized soccer was collapsing, let's just call it that. But the women's team and the men's team were collapsing, and we were kind of He was a laughing stock,” said Eddie Lawson, former coach of Troup's men's and women's soccer teams. “And over those six years, we've had some great players who believed in us and turned this situation around. “Each of the young people sitting here today is responsible for turning team football around. ”

The Merida brothers are a group just like them. Diego and Luis are just two of the four brothers who have made a huge impact on group football. The two have been playing soccer together for as long as they can walk, and their journey continues together at Mars Hill.

“We've always been on the same team since we started playing when we were about 5 years old,” Diego said.

Playing with your twin brother in high school is a special experience, but being able to do it in college is a completely different experience.

“We've both wanted to play in college since we were in middle school, but we never thought we'd have the opportunity to play together in college,” Lewis said.

Diego was a fearless player at the back, and Luis was one of the orchestrators of the attack.

The Merida brothers have been playing soccer almost their entire lives, but Patrick didn't discover the sport until much later. The senior has always had speed and athleticism for soccer and quickly adapted to the sport once he joined the team in high school.

“This is a real blessing and something I’ve been striving for the last few years,” Patrick said. “I have worked a lot to get better and get to where I am.”

Patrick quickly became one of the Tigers' most reliable goal scorers. Now he will have a chance to put the ball in the back of the net at the next level.

“I'm ready to compete at the next level and show them my worth,” Patrick said.

Kitchens was the only women's soccer player signed Wednesday, but she was also joined in this recruiting class by Susannah Lynn. Like Patrick, Kitchens discovered soccer late in her life. She said softball was her sport and she continued to play softball for most of her childhood until her final season with Troup last fall. Kitchens got hooked on soccer when she was in second grade and she never looked back.

“When I first got to high school, I never thought I would end up playing football, and I never thought I would definitely sign to play in college,” Kitchens said. “I started thinking about playing in college last year, and Coach (Stan) Brumbello really pushed my name.”

Kitchens has been one of Region 4-4A's top goaltenders in recent years, but missed out on the region's goaltender award by just a few votes the past two seasons. Although she was initially unsure of her position, she became a stable presence among the posts in her group.

“I loved soccer from day one, but I wasn’t sure about being a goalkeeper at first,” Kitchens said with a laugh.

Little did Kitchens and Patrick know when they entered high school that they would end up signing up to play in college. That's what hard work, determination, and a good “can do” attitude can do for someone.

The varsity soccer program had to say goodbye to these four, but their impact will be felt long after they graduate next week.