Good Charlotte's Goalkeeping Sets Pace for Soccer Season
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All eyes are on star soccer goalie Charlotte Phillips to lead the team to another great season, “We had some tough losses at the end, but we beat some of our biggest rivals and ended up as league champions,” Phillips said, “we also got our first banner in the gym.”
Phillips has been the starting varsity goalie since her freshman year in 2007. She has definitely proven that she can hold down the fort under any kind of pressure heading into her junior year. She will certainly face that pressure this fall because the girls are coming off the best season they had seen in many years.
Phillips not only works hard at soccer, but she also plays year round on the Eastern FC team. During her freshman year she traveled to Liverpool, England to play at their soccer academy and play against teams from all over the area. “Liverpool was incredible,” Phillips said, “Getting the chance to play in a place where soccer was unlike anything that I could’ve experienced in Darien.”
Phillips also works with a goalie coach outside of both her premier team and her high school team. “Right now I’m working with Sean who is part of the Eastern program. We get together about twice a week, once one on one, and once with the U18 keeper,” Phillips said. “It’s a really good time for me to work on things that I have been struggling with. I improve a lot with the sessions.”
With soccer alone, Phillips has a full plate on her hands, but she piles it even higher as an important long jumper, pole vaulter, and sprinter for the track team. “Charlotte is a key competitor in track,” fellow junior Elizabeth Crafford said, “She went to China for three weeks and came back and qualified for states in three events. That’s something that most kids spend the whole season working on.”
Phillip’s pole vaulting record is 8 feet 6 inches, long jump is 15 feet 2 inches, and her sprint time for the 200 meter race is 28.2 seconds.
Every day during winter and spring, Phillips is practicing hard with track until 4:30pm and then, three out of five days, she’s heading to soccer practice straight from track. “Charlotte is a very hard worker and she manages her time really well considering all of the things she has to do,” junior Sam Johnston said.
Charlotte's Top 5 Bands:
- The Beatles
- Coldplay
- Death Cab for Cutie
- James Taylor
- The Format
Not only is Charlotte a wonderful and well-known athlete, she is also a very talented artist. “Although Charlotte is mostly known for her athletic ability,” brother and former Neirad editor Nick Phillips said. “She also has a soft, more artistic side,” her brother added. Students can often see Charlotte doodling during her classes, and every day after practice she draws for a long time before doing her homework. “Charlotte enjoys drawing in her spare time and is very good at drawing animals and landscapes,” Nick commented. Charlotte is also very good at drawing Disney and Pixar characters.
With a difficult junior year ahead of her, Charlotte has a lot of work to look forward to. “Luckily I got driver’s ed out of the way during my sophomore year,” Phillips said, “But SAT prep is going to be very time consuming.” With SAT prep, sports, and the four AP/honors classes she’s taking, Phillips is looking at a very tight schedule. “I’m ready for the challenge,” she said.
