Photo By Laura Kreider | VICENZA, Italy - Cougars Girls’ soccer team players celebrate their goal by...... read more read more
VICENZA, Italy – When Riley West and her family moved to Vicenza at the start of the second semester of her senior year, she joined Vicenza High School’s soccer team.
Coach Adam Ridgley and her fellow players quickly became a second family to her.
“During the short time I have worked with her, I have come to appreciate the effort and positive attitude she brings to life,” said Ridgley.
On May 19, the Vicenza Cougars Girls' soccer team won the 2022 Department of Defense Education Activity Europe Schools soccer championships in Kaiserslautern, Germany. Vicenza defeated Aviano 2-0 to take the Division II title.
“This is my first season with the Cougars. It is hands down my favorite high school season ever,” she said. “I am beyond grateful the girls have trusted me to be a leader and spokesperson for them.”
A captain, West enjoyed helping lead teammates in games, practices and events. Now, with the school year nearly at its end, West signed on to play next year at Emmanuel College.
West started playing soccer when she was 10, after watching her younger brother, Owen, play since he was three. Soccer looked like fun and she decided to be on a team with others. In her sophomore year, COVID-19 struck, while she was living in Georgia.
“I was devastated because my former high school team was heading towards playoffs with an undefeated season and ranked #5 in the nation,” West said.
Undeterred, West played daily on two nearby soccer fields, focusing on fitness and ball work. She sometimes thought COVID-19 restrictions would never be lifted. She thought she might never play soccer again. Eventually, her individual training helped her out. Games started rolling back around. In July 2021, Emmanuel’s coach watched her play with her club team Atlanta Fire United, and later asked her to visit the campus.
The women’s soccer team at Emmanuel plays in the NCAA Division II in Conference Carolinas. She was impressed with the college team’s friendliness and hospitality.
“It felt like a family there,” said West, who plans to major in biology. “The community is very close and it was very easy to see that.”
One of the VHS educators, Desiree Thomas, Business and Computer Science, thinks that DoDEA schools allow military-connected students like West to transfer schools and hit the ground running more seamlessly.
“At schools like Vicenza, educators and peers know and understand what it is like to be uprooted and relocated, and the resilience and determination required to stay on track to meet graduation requirements and to achieve personal goals,” Thomas said.
| Date Taken: | 05.25.2022 |
| Date Posted: | 05.28.2022 17:19 |
| Story ID: | 421779 |
| Location: | IT |
| Web Views: | 84 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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