Although the Girls’ Soccer season did not meet expectations, with most of their key players gone due to injury or graduating, senior Makenzie Jenkins has stood out as a key component to the team and an even stronger captain who helped bring her team together and create plays on the field for four years. With a frustrating season record of 4-14, and the team not moving forward to the state tournament, Jenkins never let the team’s losses or hardships affect her role as a strong and passionate captain.
Jenkins started playing soccer when she was six years old on the Malden Youth Team, which is where her love for the sport started. Ever since she participated in Malden Youth, she has been inspired to help others play and get better at soccer through volunteering at soccer events that train and develop youth players around Massachusetts.
When Jenkins reached high school, her hard work on teams like Malden Youth and her 7v7 team allowed her to be on the varsity team as a freshman. Although being tasked with the position of the starting striker as a freshman seemed to be overwhelming for Jenkins, the Girls’ Soccer Coach, Rick Caceda, noted every bit of effort she put in: “From day one, her work ethic, just playing hard, never giving up, and never stopping running for four years, she played just about every minute of every game.”
Her determination towards the game and working hard to become the best leader she could be for her team was something that was not overlooked by her teammates, as junior Mercedes Costa praised her drive. She noted that Jenkins “ really made the team better; she always made sure everyone had a positive attitude. She made sure we were always locked in, and that we always tried our hardest.”
A fellow senior on the team, Jazlyn Martinez, agreed with Costa’s claims as Martinez noted that Jenkins “has changed into such a mature and responsible person from freshman year, and you could really tell why our coach chose her to be a captain.”
Her growth in roles on the team also allowed her to grow mentally, as she used to struggle with confidence both on and off the field. She expressed that she has noticed a change in her “confidence in playing soccer or any sport as I continue to play and grow with my playing skills.”
Even though Jenkins may have doubted her skills at the start of her high school soccer career, she has become both a strong and influential player who inspires others on the team to do better by making meaningful connections and changes with everyone she has played with.
Sophomore Nyla Pierre touched on Jenkins’s ability to guide her team. Although they only played together for two years, Pierre looked back on their time together and mentioned that “she was very nice, she helped score goals, and even when we were playing the toughest teams, she would score.”
“She changed the team just by making it easier to show up every day, like making it easier to just want to be there and want to go to practice. She just made the team more enjoyable. She’s a very bright personality and made everyone really happy,” added Martinez.
Jenkins’s ability to build relationships and grow with her teammates was something that was unique to her: leading by example while forming strong friendships meant that she made an apparent mark on the team for years to come. Everybody on the team “wants to be like Makenzie, and everybody wanted to make Makenzie’s senior poster,” claimed Coach Rick Caceda. “And I would like to have 15 Makenzies,” Coach Rick Caceda concluded.
Although Jenkins has made “lifelong best friends” through playing soccer, and will potentially play club soccer in college, she is currently committed to playing lacrosse at the NCAA Division III level at Westfield State University.
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