Miranda Weslake is a senior at Beaufort Academy where she is a sports star for the Eagles in soccer, basketball and volleyball. She is such a valuable player in soccer that she has played on the varsity team since eighth grade. She was captain of the soccer team last year and will be the captain again this season. Her striking ability is phenomenal – she was even recruited to be the kicker for the football team, a position she ended up turning down.
Weslake has been playing soccer since she was four years old. “We put her in soccer because she was in perpetual motion and we decided we needed to do something to run some energy out of her,” says her mother, Lisa. “She’s still in perpetual motion. One of her biggest strengths in soccer is her speed.”
“When she was about six or seven, she played on a team mixed with boys and girls. She was always tall for her age, bigger than the boys and the girls, and was faster than all of them. It was fun to watch her and realize she had a talent for that sport,” says her father, Tom.
Eagles high school soccer coach David Byrne has known Weslake since she was about 10 years old. He coached her on a U12 club team. “She’s a special talent,” says Byrne. “I remember it like yesterday. I remember her walking onto the field, and she’s tall for her age so that’s the first thing that strikes you. I was watching her juggle the soccer ball and thinking to myself ‘My gosh! I can’t even juggle a soccer ball that well!’”
When Weslake was in seventh grade she was asked to play on the Mount Pleasant club team out of Charleston. “When I was asked to join the club team, that’s when it really became real to me that there was actual good, competitive soccer in this world. I wouldn’t be anywhere close to where I am without my club soccer career,” says Weslake.
Weslake has earned numerous achievements. She was one of only one hundred freshmen from around the nation to be invited to try out for the U15 National soccer team in Portland, Oregon. She has also been the Eagles MVP for the past four years, South Carolina Independent School Association, SCISA, Player of the Year and All-Region Soccer team for the past two years.
“She’s the most talented soccer player I’ve ever coached. She’s a natural striker and she plays at a very high level through the Mount Pleasant organization. On our team, however, she’s asked to take a different role. We put her in the mid field. She has tremendous foot skills, has a great eye for the soccer field and she distributes the ball extremely well. I’ve always looked at it as a tremendous example of selflessness and sacrifice for the team. I don’t need her to score goals. I need her to control the midfield. I’ve got other players that can score the goals but no one is as good as her in the midfield. She has really enabled the soccer team to have a lot of success over the past couple years,” says Coach Byrne. “I don’t have the records right in front of me, but she has broken them all. I almost feel bad keeping records like that because players are always wanting to beat them but Miranda will be a hard act to beat.”
In addition to soccer, Weslake’s volleyball team was All Region this past year. She has also been the MVP for her basketball team for the past three years as well as All-Region Basketball team for the past two years.
Weslake says one her favorite memories in sports was scoring her thousandth point in basketball her junior year. “It was crazy!” says Weslake. “It was against our rival, Thomas Heyward Academy. They had a banner hanging up where the spotlight is. I had nine more points to score and the banner was numbered from nine counting down. Every time I would score a point they’d rip off the number until, when I was at the foul line shooting two foul shots, there were only two points left. I knew if I made these two shots I would get my thousandth point. I remember my heart was pounding, I was so nervous and saying to myself, ‘Okay, this is it! You still have the rest of the game but this is a big spotlight moment.’ I made both of them, I was so excited I ran and hugged my friend Charlotte and everyone from the team came and hugged me. Everyone in the crowd was cheering. Our principal brought out balloons and they gave me the basketball. It was awesome.”
“I had all our family there,” says Weslake’s mother. “It was an exciting night and a lot of fun. And you know what? That hasn’t happened since the 1980s. It’s kind of ironic that it was actually a girl in my graduating class at Beaufort Academy who held the record. I called her on the phone and told her, ‘My daughter is about to beat your points record!’”
“What makes her special are her instincts,” says her basketball coach, Brock Vaigneur. “She’s got incredible instincts, like knowing where to go to steal the ball. She can read the girls in front of her and make the proper play. So her instincts are what make her great. The athletic ability doesn’t really mean anything if you don’t know how to use it and she knows how to use it. I always tell people Miranda is a soccer player playing basketball. She uses the same instincts. The same things she can do with her feet on the soccer ball are the same things she does with her hands on the basketball. It is the combination of her athletic ability and instincts that make her great and that is why Clemson signed her to play soccer for them.”
Weslake, her family, and her coaches are looking forward to her playing soccer for Clemson University.
“Her signing with Clemson was a great moment for everyone involved, especially for her,” says Weslake’s father. “It was a culmination of years and years of hard work that paid off for her in the end.
“I know Miranda is a legacy at Clemson,” says Byrne. “It’s a great school and a great fit for her. I’ve already told my wife – we have five-year-old triplets at home – but I’ve already told her the first game Miranda plays in, I won’t be home that weekend, so you can just plan on that!”
“I graduated from Clemson. My parents graduated from Clemson – my brother and cousins, too. Lots and lots of schools, prestigious and Ivy league schools scouted her. So, when Clemson first showed interest I made sure she got to their summer camp and she really seemed to like it. I wanted her to go to Clemson but only if she wanted to go. I wanted her to make her own decision in her life but we are all thrilled that she chose Clemson. We can’t wait to watch her play,” says her mother.
Favorite sports moments: Shooting my 1000th point in basketball and getting chosen to try out for the U15 National Soccer team
Favorite college team: Clemson University
Favorite college player: Sammy Watkins
Favorite pro player: Wayne Rooney
Favorite subject in school: Spanish
Most influential person: Club soccer coach Kian Brownlee
Player Spotlight/ Coastal edition/ March 2014
Miranda Weslake
Soccer Coach: David Byrne
Basketball Coach: Brock Vaigneur
Beaufort Academy
Beaufort, South Carolina
Ruby Hilliard
