DANE FUELLING
WZBD.com
The old cliché can be heard all the time in high school athletics.
“That kid can do it all!”
But can they really?
In the case of Heritage junior Ava Smith, the answer is a resounding yes. She literally CAN do it all.
She’s not the only athlete out there who sets the bar high in the classroom and contributes to her team in the evenings.
But Smith does way more than that.
Ranked No. 1 in her class, Smith is captain of the Patriots soccer team. Impressive, right?
Did we mention the part about her also running cross country on the weekends?
How does she do it? We better let Smith explain it herself.
“The balance between the two is very difficult. Usually after school I will go to cross country practice and do a workout/run and then I will go out and finish my night with soccer practice. The tiredness and fatigue is also very difficult. During this season I am constantly sore and have to prioritize keeping my body healthy. I play the full 80 minutes at the games at center mid, so I am constantly moving and running. This past weekend I ran a meet in the morning and then went straight to Jay County and played our full conference game. It is definitely a mental battle for me to keep pushing through the pain and to keep myself going.”
While she admits the difficulty of doing so much, there is never a hint of changing her routine and prioritizing one sport over the other.
“I’ve never had an athlete at this level for both sports,” admits Matt Smith, who serves as dad to Ava’s academic aspirations, coach to her cross country achievements and cheerleader from the bleachers at soccer.
Smith’s soccer coach, Kyleigh Gay, has also never had an athlete quite like Ava Smith.
“I have not had an athlete quite like Ava before. She is an extremely hard worker and handles the pressure of competing in both sports tremendously. During one of our Saturday games Ava ran a XC meet in the morning and then played every minute in our soccer game against Jay County just a couple of hours later. I count on Ava for a lot, and she always shows up.”
Coach Smith notes that this year’s team has an impressive group of four girls who have committed themselves to both soccer and cross country, but it is Ava who trains for the 5K and rarely comes out in an 80-minute match.
“This is very impressive on days that we have a meet and then she has a game in the evening. Her mental toughness to push through is very impressive.”
That’s right. There are nights where Smith runs a 5K AND plays 80 minutes.
Coach Smith says Ava leads through her actions on the cross country team. She also wears the captain’s armband for the soccer team.
“She is a natural leader,” says coach Gay, “and she has such a positive attitude. She is a junior, who is a second-year captain on a team with eight seniors. That says a lot.”
Smith’s role on the soccer field is not only that of a leader, but also one of service. She has played a key role in the success of one of the state’s leading scorers – teammate Nin Way – who has 15 goals in just six matches this season. Smith has eight assists already, with most of them going to Way, who is seventh in the state in scoring.
In cross country, Smith finished second-team all-conference at last year’s ACAC meet. Her coach thinks she has a chance to reach a little bit higher this year.
“I’ve really grown to love cross country and the team and atmosphere at meets makes it really special for me,” says Ava of her new sport.
Equally impressive as her athletic abilities are her exploits in the classroom.
“Ava is a hardworking young lady,” notes Heritage HS principal Rebecca Christensen. “In the fall she does two sports simultaneously and seems to do it with ease. She always has a positive attitude and can be relied on by adults and students alike. She has a strong desire to perform at her best all the time. She is one of the most reliable students I have ever worked with.”
Smith says time management has been the skill she has developed over the past two years.
“Most of my nights are spent staying up super late studying and working on homework,” she says. “I also have to prioritize getting my work done in school rather than out of school. It is very stressful but I am able to manage it.”
The star athlete and students admits that soccer has always been her passion, but her dad’s position as coach opened up a new avenue when she became a freshman.
“I’ve played soccer my whole life and I knew when I came to high school it was something I still wanted to continue,” says Ava, who feels her passion for both sports fuels her from sun up to sun down (and sometimes beyond). “Freshman year my dad introduced me to cross country and even though it wasn’t my favorite right away I’ve grown to really love it. Running has really became a giant stress relief for me where I can get away from the stress of school, tests, homework, and soccer.”
The junior’s ability to run has been key to her success as a midfielder, according to coach Gay. While she gets attention for her assists, the coach also appreciates Smith’s ability to get back and defend.
“She is a great box-to-box midfielder and she helps us tremendously on defense,” says Gay, who is also quick to point out that Smith is not just a girl with a motor that never stops.
“She is very skilled,” says the coach. “She is the one taking nearly all of our free kicks. She leads the team in assists and I expect her to continue to play a key role for us throughout the rest of the season.”
Ava Smith confesses that she has been told a time or two that she is crazy for doing so much.
“I tell them that I love them both and I could never decide between the two.”
Follow Ava’s journeys in both cross country and soccer all season long here on WZBD.com.Â