Scoles devours challenges at Naperville C.
By Matt Le Cren
High school presents a smorgasbord of opportunities for the teenage student, especially at large schools such as Naperville Central.
The academic and extracurricular possibilities can seem endless, and perhaps overwhelming for incoming freshmen.
Sarah Scoles has some advice for them.
“I’d say try a little bit of everything and balance it out well,” Scoles said. “You don’t want to be too spread out, like spread out thin, but you also want to be involved in several things to have a well-rounded experience.”
Scoles speaks from experience. The senior forward has accomplished a lot on and off the soccer field and has done all of it well.
Scoles, a Carnegie Mellon recruit, is a three-year varsity soccer player who has seen action at two different positions. She sports a 4.3 GPA, plays the violin in the school orchestra and is a member of the National Honor Society, Math Honor Society and French Honor Society.
Little wonder that Naperville Central coach Ed Watson said Carnegie Mellon will be a good fit for Scoles.
“She’s a multitalented kid, and she has a lot of irons in the fire,” Watson said. “Carnegie Mellon is a great school, period, and secondly, they’ve also done pretty well recently in soccer.”
Indeed, the Tartans reached the Division III national semifinals last fall. The school also offers the academic rigor Scoles is looking for.
“I plan to major in chemical engineering and minor in biology,” Scoles said. “I’ve always been a STEM-minded person, so it’s very exciting.”
Scoles is always interested to try new things. On the soccer field, that meant changing positions last season, moving to forward from her accustomed left back position.
“That was pretty exciting,” Scoles said. “It was definitely something new.
“For club, coach pushed me to forward for a bit, because I have some pace and a nice shot. So, Watson moved me up to forward. It was definitely a change of pace from playing outside back my whole life.”
It was a nice change of pace for the Redhawks, who were looking for someone to provide some scoring punch without star playmaker Hannah Bradley-Leon, an Illinois State recruit who missed the season with a knee injury.
Scoles responded by leading the team in scoring with six goals and five assists.
“Each year she’s done more for us,” Watson said. “As a sophomore, she was quiet and was trying to get used to playing at the varsity level. By the time she was a junior, she came in with a lot more confidence.
“She had moved to forward on a club team so we decided to keep her there. When you’re playing one position most of the year it’s a lot easier if we can plug them into that position for high school.
“She did a great job for us early in the season scoring some goals for us. We as a group went into a scoring funk, but she did everything she was asked to do.”
Scoles blends intelligence and physical strength to play effectively no matter where she is on the field.
“She plays a physical game,” Watson said. “She’s not afraid to use her head, which is sort of a dying art these days.
“She wants to be involved. When it comes time for set pieces, she either wants to be taking the set piece or finding a way to get on the other end of it. She was valuable in a lot of different ways as she continued to grow as a player.”
That growth has been stunted temporarily by the coronavirus pandemic, which has put the season in jeopardy. Watson said it would be a shame for seniors like Scoles not to get a chance to showcase their talents one last time.
But Scoles remains optimistic about going into battle with the Redhawks again.
“I’m very hopeful that we get to play soccer,” Scoles said. “It’s a really good group of girls.
“I’ve definitely made a lot of friends over the years, which I wasn’t expecting. We’re definitely a close-knit group and the memories that I’ve made and the bonds with some of the seniors that graduated before me, I can’t really forget them.
“It’s always fun to play with girls that are different ages.”
Scoles has been doing that for years and not just with the Redhawks. She was the most precocious member of the NSA Shock U-19 team that won a national championship in July 2018.
That experience will prepare her for college in the fall, where she will again have to compete against older players.
“When I was a sophomore playing up on the U-19 Shock team, I had to learn how to be physical with the older girls,” Scoles said. “It was awesome.
“From that experience, I learned how to do body first, ball out, and how not to foul because everyone was either my size or bigger. It’s good to play against older girls.”
Scoles said that college soccer will be a big change for her, but Watson is confident she will be up to the task. She was recruited as an outside back, her natural position, but that doesn’t mean she won’t be able to utilize her offensive skills.
“The two roles are so similar,” Watson said. “If you’re playing winger or outside back, you can get up the field on the perimeter. She’s two-footed, she hits the (tar) out of the ball.
“She’s got a great soccer body, is able to play physical soccer without the need of grabbing and pulling. She uses her leverage really well.
“Carnegie Mellon is going to be really happy.”
Scoles is happy that her soccer skills and academic prowess have taken her to a top-flight university. She has participated in a lot of activities, including other sports such as water polo, which she played before entering high school, and swimming, which she still does in the summers for her neighborhood team, Carriage Naper Hill.
But soccer remains her driving force.
“I’ve been playing soccer since I was 5 years old and I’m just very competitive in everything I do,” Scoles said. “I always wanted to achieve in soccer because soccer is my passion. That’s pushed me.”
By Matt Le Cren
High school presents a smorgasbord of opportunities for the teenage student, especially at large schools such as Naperville Central.
The academic and extracurricular possibilities can seem endless, and perhaps overwhelming for incoming freshmen.
Sarah Scoles has some advice for them.
“I’d say try a little bit of everything and balance it out well,” Scoles said. “You don’t want to be too spread out, like spread out thin, but you also want to be involved in several things to have a well-rounded experience.”
Scoles speaks from experience. The senior forward has accomplished a lot on and off the soccer field and has done all of it well.
Scoles, a Carnegie Mellon recruit, is a three-year varsity soccer player who has seen action at two different positions. She sports a 4.3 GPA, plays the violin in the school orchestra and is a member of the National Honor Society, Math Honor Society and French Honor Society.
Little wonder that Naperville Central coach Ed Watson said Carnegie Mellon will be a good fit for Scoles.
“She’s a multitalented kid, and she has a lot of irons in the fire,” Watson said. “Carnegie Mellon is a great school, period, and secondly, they’ve also done pretty well recently in soccer.”
Indeed, the Tartans reached the Division III national semifinals last fall. The school also offers the academic rigor Scoles is looking for.
“I plan to major in chemical engineering and minor in biology,” Scoles said. “I’ve always been a STEM-minded person, so it’s very exciting.”
Scoles is always interested to try new things. On the soccer field, that meant changing positions last season, moving to forward from her accustomed left back position.
“That was pretty exciting,” Scoles said. “It was definitely something new.
“For club, coach pushed me to forward for a bit, because I have some pace and a nice shot. So, Watson moved me up to forward. It was definitely a change of pace from playing outside back my whole life.”
It was a nice change of pace for the Redhawks, who were looking for someone to provide some scoring punch without star playmaker Hannah Bradley-Leon, an Illinois State recruit who missed the season with a knee injury.
Scoles responded by leading the team in scoring with six goals and five assists.
“Each year she’s done more for us,” Watson said. “As a sophomore, she was quiet and was trying to get used to playing at the varsity level. By the time she was a junior, she came in with a lot more confidence.
“She had moved to forward on a club team so we decided to keep her there. When you’re playing one position most of the year it’s a lot easier if we can plug them into that position for high school.
“She did a great job for us early in the season scoring some goals for us. We as a group went into a scoring funk, but she did everything she was asked to do.”
Scoles blends intelligence and physical strength to play effectively no matter where she is on the field.
“She plays a physical game,” Watson said. “She’s not afraid to use her head, which is sort of a dying art these days.
“She wants to be involved. When it comes time for set pieces, she either wants to be taking the set piece or finding a way to get on the other end of it. She was valuable in a lot of different ways as she continued to grow as a player.”
That growth has been stunted temporarily by the coronavirus pandemic, which has put the season in jeopardy. Watson said it would be a shame for seniors like Scoles not to get a chance to showcase their talents one last time.
But Scoles remains optimistic about going into battle with the Redhawks again.
“I’m very hopeful that we get to play soccer,” Scoles said. “It’s a really good group of girls.
“I’ve definitely made a lot of friends over the years, which I wasn’t expecting. We’re definitely a close-knit group and the memories that I’ve made and the bonds with some of the seniors that graduated before me, I can’t really forget them.
“It’s always fun to play with girls that are different ages.”
Scoles has been doing that for years and not just with the Redhawks. She was the most precocious member of the NSA Shock U-19 team that won a national championship in July 2018.
That experience will prepare her for college in the fall, where she will again have to compete against older players.
“When I was a sophomore playing up on the U-19 Shock team, I had to learn how to be physical with the older girls,” Scoles said. “It was awesome.
“From that experience, I learned how to do body first, ball out, and how not to foul because everyone was either my size or bigger. It’s good to play against older girls.”
Scoles said that college soccer will be a big change for her, but Watson is confident she will be up to the task. She was recruited as an outside back, her natural position, but that doesn’t mean she won’t be able to utilize her offensive skills.
“The two roles are so similar,” Watson said. “If you’re playing winger or outside back, you can get up the field on the perimeter. She’s two-footed, she hits the (tar) out of the ball.
“She’s got a great soccer body, is able to play physical soccer without the need of grabbing and pulling. She uses her leverage really well.
“Carnegie Mellon is going to be really happy.”
Scoles is happy that her soccer skills and academic prowess have taken her to a top-flight university. She has participated in a lot of activities, including other sports such as water polo, which she played before entering high school, and swimming, which she still does in the summers for her neighborhood team, Carriage Naper Hill.
But soccer remains her driving force.
“I’ve been playing soccer since I was 5 years old and I’m just very competitive in everything I do,” Scoles said. “I always wanted to achieve in soccer because soccer is my passion. That’s pushed me.”