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GCCC's Reyes inks with South Dakota
Published 3/25/2009 in Sports : GCCC
By MIKE KESSINGER
As he will do with any of his players who have an interest of continuing a collegiate career in soccer after Garden City Community College, women's soccer coach Jeff Huffman sat down with sophomore defensive specialist Irma Reyes.
He talked to her about what part of the country she might be looking to move to and about at what level of collegiate soccer could she play. When they were done Huffman began looking and found the University of South Dakota as an option. The South Dakota coach, Marcia Oliveira, told Huffman she would take a look at video he sent her, by the time she had viewed Reyes' play, Oliveira felt comfortable offering her a scholarship.
"The coach was happy with what she saw," Reyes said of the DVD sent of Oliveira. "She said I still have to do a lot of work just like everyone else."
By committing to South Dakota, which is in Vermillion, S.D., Reyes becomes the first Lady Broncbuster in the program's four-year existence to sign with an NCAA Division I program. Huffman believes that Reyes might also be the only player from the Jayhawk Conference to have inked with a D-I program. That alone with being the first player in the program's history to sign at that level is an achievement by itself according to Huffman.
"It's even more satisfying to see that she may be the only one from the conference who is (signing with an NCAA D-I program)," Huffman said. "That's very unique in itself that a girl who wasn't even an all-conference player is going to end up being a Division I player."
A two-year part of the Busters building a program that finished its fourth year in the fall, Reyes joins a program that had its own struggles last season. South Dakota finished the year 5-11. Reyes, though, is used to being in a program building its way up. As a freshman in 2007, she was on the Garden City team that won just four games. Last season the Busters improved to 8-7-1, the most wins ever in the short history of the program.
"My main concern was school, whether my credits would transfer or not," Reyes said. "I looked into whether they had my major, and they kept asking me to go on a visit. I went on a visit and I really liked the girls there a lot. I just really liked everything there. I'm pretty excited."
A secondary education major, Reyes graduated from Garden City High School in 2007. Moving away from her family for the first time will be hard, but Reyes said she is certainly ready for the opportunity.
"I don't really think anybody's ever ready to move, but we have to do what we have to do," Reyes said. "I have to grow up somehow. I don't think I'm ready (to move), but I'm not a quitter. I'll make it through."
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