Staying Close to Home
October 18, 2002 | Women's Soccer
Oct. 18, 2002
By Kayla Biggerstaff, Athletic Media Relations
Out of the four Red Raider soccer players all born and raised here in Lubbock, only one wanted to stay where her roots are, while the other three were certain they wanted to get away. The love of soccer and the desire to play at a Division I level brought Tracy Loyd, Lindsey Duke, Stephanie Colbert and Brandi Sims together to be a part of the Texas Tech Red Raider team.
Two years ago as a senior at Lubbock Coronado, Tracy Loyd had a big decision to make. She grew up in Lubbock playing soccer since the age of four and developing a yearning to move away. It wasn't until halfway through her senior year in high school that she had to weigh her options.
"I wanted to go anywhere but here," Loyd said. "I had to decide really early because I had some other schools that needed to know my decision so they could give my scholarship to someone else. But, I felt this was really the right place for me to be, and so far it's proven right."
Not having to adjust to a new living environment gave Tracy the opportunity to focus on other changes she experienced.
"The biggest change for me was learning to play the ball quicker. The level of play here is heads and tails above what we played in high school. You have to fine-tune every aspect of your game."
That's exactly what Loyd did, although she suffered from an ACL injury in 2001 and did not play, her 2000 season was action packed. She started in all 17 games she played in. She took the season high three shots and led the team on goal percentage. She was voted to the LSU All-Tournament Team and named to the fall and spring Commissioner's Honor Roll.
Loyd isn't finished, she continued, "I want to reach a level I haven't reached yet. I want to walk away from this experience and have been the best soccer player I could be."
Following in Loyd's footsteps were Duke, Colbert, and Sims. All three are from different Lubbock high schools but are definitely familiar with each other. The girls have been both rivals and teammates on the field at different times.
"We all played together on the same club team for about five years," Colbert said. "It's really easy to work with Lindsey and Brandi because I know how they play. It's easier to work together because we have played against each other and know how to feed off of each other."
Colbert didn't hate the idea of staying home after graduating from Lubbock High but had an inclination to move away until she realized that Tech offered her the best opportunity. She made her decision pretty close to signing day.
"You kind of want to get out and be on your own because you have always been in the same place," the 5-foot-8 defender said. " But I think it's a really good school and once I weighed the situation and my options, I decided to come here."
Colbert brings with her the desire to have a great experience and an appreciation for the opportunity she has been given.
"I hope to gain experience because I want to become a better player," the freshman said. "Everybody is so good that you learn from people and play off each other. It just makes you a better player."
Soccer isn't her only priority. " I want to make good grades, that's obviously a big deal," Colbert continued, "I want to keep my focus on school just as much as on soccer."
Lindsey Duke, a former Coronado student, also has big dreams and goals even though this is not where she thought she would end up.
"I never planned to play here," Duke said. "But, I wanted to play Division I soccer on scholarship. Being part of something so recognized is really awesome."
Duke has big goals for the future. "I want to go further with my soccer career. I don't want it to be over after this." Duke stated, "I want to be able to go on and to make money in soccer."
For now, Duke wants to contribute as much as she can to making this team successful.
"I want to do everything for my team that I can," Duke said, "I want to make a positive impact."
Sims attended high school at Lubbock Monterey, and like Duke and Colbert, also wants to make the best of the experience.
"It's so awesome to know your playing with the best players that can be recruited," Sims said. "It's just such a good experience and I want to play to my ability the best that I can."
Sims is happy about the reunion of the trio.
"It's a big advantage to have played together for so long."
The one thing that Sims doesn't have in common with the others is that she knew from the beginning where she wanted to go to school.
"There were other options but I didn't really want to move away, this is home."
All four girls have the same common goals. They all want to be the best players they can be and work hard for their team; however, the one thing that brings them all together, whether or not they wanted to move away or stay, was the desire to play soccer for a recognized Division I soccer team.