Grace Ivey has been named the ITG Next 2022 Northeast Florida Female Soccer Player of the Year, presented by Wolfson Children’s Hospital, Baptist Health, and the Jacksonville Orthopaedic Institute.
Ivey is a junior midfielder at Bartram Trail High School in St. Johns, Florida, and is currently committed to Texas A&M University. She also plays club soccer with Florida Elite Soccer Academy in St. Johns. Ivey is very involved with the Bartram Trail track and field team. She has competed in the 200-, 400-, 800- and 1,600-meter races.
Ivey has appeared in 54 soccer games at Bartram Trail since her freshman year, where she appeared in 18 games. Ivey had a successful season, making 13 goals with 11 assists.
As the No. 1 seed in the Class 7A tournament this season, Bartram Trail unfortunately lost to the fifth-seeded Creekside by a score of 3-2. Creekside went on to win the state championship, defeating Cypress Bay.
Bartram Trail went into the Creekside matchup undefeated with an 18-0 record and finished the season 18-1.
The Bears won back-to-back Class 7A state championships before this season, so winning a state championship is all Ivey has known. She said there was one area that she thinks she can work on and change for a better outcome next season: mindset.
“It’s just not getting caught up thinking that we are going to move on like we always have,” Ivey said. “I think we need to get in our mindset that anything can happen, and we have to be ready for everything.”
According to Ivey, the training environment at Bartram Trail is intense. The team pushes each other to be better and stronger every day. Ivey recognized that she would not be the soccer player she is without the support from her teammates and coaches.
“You practice how you play,” Ivey said. “If you put your heart and soul out every practice, you are going to make the people around you even better.”
The Bears have a number of student-athletes that will play in college aside from Ivey. Bailey Dean is committed to Jacksonville State, Reese Radecki is committed to North Florida, Olivia Bori is committed to Florida Atlantic, and Reese Wheeler is committed to the University of Miami.
Even though Bartram Trail will graduate seven athletes from the soccer team, they still have a strong group of juniors to look forward to next season. There are nine juniors, including Ivey, that will be trying their hardest to get back to the state championship game that they all know so well.
Written by: Kennedie Weems
