Maybe the best way to describe Meg Torbert is to just say the 18-year-old is a whirlwind of activity.
A senior and multi-sport athlete at Pacelli School, Torbert currently participates in two spring sports at the same time. She balances soccer and tennis in these last few weeks before she graduates, but it isn’t her first rodeo when it comes to multi-tasking.
“My sophomore year I was a manager for the football team while I was also playing travel ball in soccer,” Torbert said. “Sometimes my mother would have to drive all the way to wherever we were having a Friday night game, pick me up, and then drive all the way to Atlanta or wherever I was going to have a soccer game the next day.”
It seems the outgoing and energetic athlete has always been active. She thinks her mother probably first introduced her daughter to soccer when Torbert was 6 years old simply because soccer would be an avenue to channel such energy.
Whatever the reason, the sport was a good fit, and Torbert is passionate about it. Up until last year, she played for the Vikings while also playing travel ball. The sport has practically been year-round for the talented athlete. Cast as a center or attack mid, Torbert is competitive on the field.
“Um, yes, I am competitive,” she said. “I like to win, obviously, but I like to play the game. That’s the best part is the competition.”
Nick Fusco is in his first year as Pacelli’s head girls soccer coach. It didn’t take long to see that side of Torbert.
“Meg is a competitor,” Fusco said. “She is competitive in whatever she does, and as a coach that is always fantastic to have on your team. She has an excellent ability to take defenders on while dribbling and is not afraid to be physical with the other team.”
Back when Torbert was a freshman at Pacelli, she played three sports: basketball, soccer, and tennis. That gave her a winter sport and two spring sports on her schedule. Maybe it just didn’t provide enough activity, because the following year she added volleyball in the fall while playing club ball and being a manager for the football team.
Last year she dropped tennis in the spring to concentrate more on soccer but kept up the dizzying pace of participating in three varsity sports and one club sport, being football manager, and keeping up with her school studies.
For her senior year, Tobert was a football manager, played volleyball in the fall, and skipped basketball. She went right into soccer and threw in one last season of tennis to round out her busy schedule.
Somehow Torbert has not only survived in this kind of frenetic pace, but actually thrived. Her academics have not suffered since she sports an impressive 4.1 GPA and is involved in numerous clubs at school. She laughed when asked about her secret to juggling so much activity.
“I do procrastinate, but you have to get done what you have to get done,” She said, shrugging her shoulder. “It’s difficult sometimes. I guess I just like to be busy, though.”
It doesn’t take long to recognize Torbert is an “all in” kind of person. No matter whether it’s sports, academics, or other activities, she said she feels if you are going to do something, put everything in it. That’s also the philosophy she adopts when mentoring younger athletes on this year’s Lady Vikings soccer team.
Torbert stresses to them the importance of working hard and working together. There are several newbies on the team this season, but the veteran athlete recognizes their talent and promotes it. She also gives team members the push they need at times to be more competitive.
Along those lines, Torbert set some goals for her last season on the soccer team. She wants her team to go to state and, on a more local level, really wants a victory over school rival the Brookstone Lady Cougars. It would be a great way to end her time at Pacelli before she heads off to Auburn University, where she plans to go to pharmacy school.
“It would be so good to for our team to beat Brookstone,” Torbert said. “But really, a good day for me in soccer is when we all play together as a team, and I have helped my team by passing the ball so someone scores or played aggressive but smart. It’s hard to believe I will soon be leaving all this, and I want to go out feeling good about my time here.”
When Torbert graduates and leaves for college, it will be a little like leaving behind family. She has been attending St. Anne-Pacelli School since kindergarten. “I’m a lifer,” she said about her years at the small, private Catholic school.
“Meg is a great addition to any team. Her ability as a soccer player and passion to compete are qualities every coach wants on their team. Her work ethic in practice and games brushes off on those around her and makes coaching this team that much easier because of it.”—Nick Fusco, Pacelli Head Girls Soccer Coach.
Columbus Valley/April-May 2017
Meg Torbert
Pacelli School
Columbus, Georgia
By Beth Welch
Photos by George McDuffie
Looking at the End Goal
