Transitioning from middle school to high school is a time that many incoming freshman dread. From the worries of getting lost to having nobody to sit with at lunch, anxiety often runs high at the beginning of the year. For freshman athletes, tryouts can be intimidating as they go up against the upperclassmen for the first time, and most are satisfied with a spot on the freshman teams. However, there are the select few athletes who are already mentally and physically prepared to compete at the varsity level—freshman Kaitlin Brown being one of the most prominent in the freshman class so far this year.
After recording her fourth shutout of the season in a 2-0 win against Milton on Tuesday night, she has proven that she is a force to be reckoned with. Brown’s performance during preseason earned her the starting goalkeeper position on the girl’s varsity soccer team and she has yet to disappoint. Although the girls’ record of 4-5-4 does not necessarily reflect how they have been playing, they have remained in range of qualifying for the state tournament and Brown has been a major reason for that. Allowing an average of only 1.2 goals per game, she has earned herself the fifth leading spot among the goalkeepers in the Bay State League.
Brown started playing goalkeeper at a young age, and got her start originally because her older sister wanted someone to practice shooting on, so she threw Brown in net. Discovering how much she loved the job, she has stuck with it ever since. Along with playing on Walpole teams, she also plays for MPS—Mass Premier Soccer—a Massachusetts club soccer team. Last season, she helped lead her team all the way to Nationals—a tournament held for the top club teams in the country—where, despite their 0-3-1 record, they played competitively in all four games. Through MPS, Brown also attends goalkeeper training sessions and trains at camps over the summer.
Despite being so young, Brown has accumulated a lot of experience—playing on both Walpole teams and her MPS team—against some of the top players in the country, especially at Nationals. This showed right from the start, as she showed very few nerves in her first varsity start against Newton North. Despite losing the game 1-2, Brown showed her dominance in net and has never stopped improving since. Although playing with and against girls who are up to four years older than you may seem daunting to some athletes, Brown has not only embraced it but has also improved from it. Brown said, “The biggest adjustment I’ve had to make is to start talking more and being more involved because the varsity level is a lot faster.”
Outside of soccer, she also enjoys playing basketball and hopes to suit up for the Walpole High School Girls Basketball program this Winter. Despite having a heavy time-commitment playing soccer, Brown’s work ethic has allowed her to excel academically, as she is enrolled in six honors-level courses this school year.
Brown’s ability to adjust to high school play has been impressive, and was also helped along by her new team. She said, “being on Varsity is a lot of fun, I love my team more than anything and I love the coaches, too.” With Brown already showing great potential, there is no telling where her soccer success could lead. After high school, she is definitely interested in continuing her soccer career. Although college is a long way off for her, she said, “I would love to play in college. I want to play as long as I can because I love [soccer] so much.” Her undeniable passion for the game has been a major factor in her high school success so far, and she is sure to be a major asset to the team for the rest of her high school years.
