By Mike Zummo
Brooke Harris has been a member of the Highland girls’ soccer team since she was in seventh grade.
In the fall, for the first time in seven years, she will put on a different uniform when she suits up for the Division II Lewis women’s soccer team in Romeoville, Illinois.
“I think I’ll feel proud of myself,” said Harris, a stabilizing force in Highland’s midfield for the last six seasons.
“I’ll be excited about the work I put in and be thankful to those that helped me along the way.”
The decision to attend Lewis was twofold. She attended a soccer camp there last summer and said she felt comfortable. Also, Lewis has an airport on campus, so she also chose it for its aviation program.
She plains to major in aviation flight management.
“I love to travel and that would make it easier,” Harris said.
Her trip included a visit with Flyers’ coach Chris Koenig, and she got a complete campus tour. She said she found the team to be accepting and outgoing.
“Having both the major and soccer made it a top fit for me,” Harris said.
She will join a Flyers team that played roughly .500 soccer during the 2019 season finishing with an 8-8-3 record and 6-6-3 in the Great Lakes Valley Conference.
“After I talked to the coach, I knew it was the right place for me,” Harris said. “I was accepted so I talk a little time to reflect on what I wanted to do. The coach and the team stayed in my head and that was enough for me.”
She spent the last four seasons playing for coach Kathelene Canosa, who made her a team captain when she was merely a freshman. She knew her freshman, with two prior years of experience, could handle it.
“It was really difficult for her,” Canosa said. “Although she had been on the team for two years, she was still a freshman.”
In that time, she averaged 14.3 goals per season and 10.5 assists per season.
Harris said she considers Canosa a role model and has created a stronger and more confident player.
“Brooke comes to practice every single day and trains as hard as she can,” Canosa said. “She tries to lift the team to the level she’s at. She’s going to lead by example so teammates reach their potential. She didn’t lead verbally at first, but as she got older, she really turned into quite a vocal leader. She was always positively pushing her teammates.”
Harris said after four years in a leadership position at Highland, she is looking forward to being the new kid on the block during her freshman year at Lewis.
“I’m ready for a new experience,” she said. “I’m excited to play with my new team. I’m excited about being the younger one. It’s been a little bit and I’m excited to work for my spot.”
Even though she’s ready for a new experience, she’s going to miss the team she helped build at Highland High School.
“I’ll miss my teammates,” Harris said. “I’ve been on the team for six years so that’s a long time. I was captain for four years and I don’t think I’ve really thought about the fact that I won’t be going back next year. I’m so used to being here.”
However, in the fall, she said she’s ready to work for her new spot and it’s time to put a new uniform on for the first time since seventh grade.
“I think I’ll feel really proud of myself,” Harris said. “I’ll be excited about the work I put in and thankful to those that helped me out along the way.”