As the whistle blows at the end of the game and the final seconds tick down, girls soccer captain senior Darcy McKee isn’t thinking about the score. She has one thing on her mind: performing well.
“I’ve never cared about the score,” McKee said. “I care about things related to the score, like if I mess up, or something went wrong.”
McKee has played soccer since she was five years old. She’s been on many competitive club teams throughout her childhood such as Lil’ Kickers, Piedmont Soccer Club, and Association Football Club.
“She’s that one person on the team who always has a positive attitude,” co-captain senior Miranda Liu said.
According to Maxpreps, the girls soccer team is 4th in the league. They are ranked 175th in California, and 506th nationally.
“The adrenaline and just enjoying the sport keeps me going, maybe I lack some of the competitiveness others have, but I think overall it’s served me well.” McKee said.
McKee is very team-driven, and finds motivation and inspiration through her teammates.
“Part of my motivation is my teammates. I’ve been playing for so long that I know all of my teammates very well,” McKee said. “I know the players on the other teams very well, and it’s fun to see how they all progress and get better.”
Along with feeling motivated by her teammates, McKee always gives her teammates words of encouragement when possible.
“I always try to say something positive in a huddle or at halftime,” McKee said.
Liu has been playing soccer with McKee since Lil’ Kickers. Liu said that McKee’s dad makes highlight films from every single game they’ve played since the beginning of her soccer career.
“I had started clipping highlights myself for U11 and U12, but now I had time to go back to the beginning and try to capture it,” Darcy McKee’s father Neil McKee said. “Now I can dip into those archives for “flashback” highlights, to celebrate individual players.”
Neil McKee has always been blown away by the energy of Darcy and the teams she’s been on.
“It’s really cool to see how much we’ve changed and progressed. I know Darcy’s dad is really into it too, which is something that might run in the family,” Liu said.
McKee said she is a reliable sprinter, and runs track for conditioning during the off-season.
“I do strongly believe that mental and physical rest during breaks keep you fresh and keep you in love with the sport in the long run,” McKee said.
McKee’s overall success in soccer is shown through multiple aspects, sprinting and defense alike.
“She plays very smart, that’s one thing that stands out about her,” Liu said. “That mixed with her speed makes her a great defender, and overall a great player.”
McKee’s positions are defense and fullback.
“She can see where the deeper passing lanes are, and complete accurate passes that swiftly turn defense into attack,” Neil McKee said.
Graduating in the spring, McKee looks forward to continuing to play soccer.
“I plan on doing club [soccer] in college, and I plan on finding an adult league when I’m out of college. I definitely appreciate how it motivates me to run and exercise,” Darcy said. “I’ll miss high school soccer because of the traditions, like senior night and dressing up for home games.”
Neil McKee said that Darcy’s effort is intense, but she takes mistakes constructively.
“The adrenaline and just enjoying the sport keeps me going, maybe I lack some of the competitiveness others have, but I think overall it’s served me well,” McKee said.
