Sometimes making the move from middle school to high school is a little daunting. With all the adjustments to be made, many times freshmen opt to ride out the wave of being new before jumping into high school sports. Jameshia Smith might have been one of those who decided to wait if it hadn’t been for an event that happened long before high school.
Back when Smith was just seven years old and attending a local after-school program, she watched her peers playing soccer. The sport looked fun, and Smith asked her mom if she could sign up to play.
“Some of the other girls at Girls, Inc. would be playing every day, and I could see that they were having a good time. I liked the action and thought I might try it,” says Smith.
Smith could be described as being shy by nature. Her personality is rather quiet and reserved. Once she got on a soccer field, she morphed into a different person. Soccer gave her a sense of confidence that has carried her through until today.
Soccer was her sport of choice during her middle school years when she played for both Girls, Inc. and East Columbus Magnet School. Because soccer is a fall sport in Muscogee County middle schools and is played both in the fall and spring with the girls’ club, Smith sometimes played on two teams simultaneously.
Used primarily as a defender, Smith (at 5’7”) was a taller than her middle school peers. Someone suggested she try basketball last year at ECMA. Having gained the confidence of playing sports through soccer, Smith gave it a try and became a two-sport athlete.
Many East Columbus eighth-grade students move on to Kendrick High School when their middle school days are 
over. Smith chose to attend Kendrick, too, and even though she knew several former Knights now going to Kendrick, the school was much larger and a little intimidating.
Because she had the confidence of playing two sports at the middle school level, Smith took another chance. She tried out and made the Lady Cherokees softball team this past fall. Still shy and reserved, the move gave Smith a fast track into making friends as a freshman while also giving her a new sport to play.
“I play first and third base in softball. It turned out to be good for me. I am not real good at hitting, but I like defending the first and third bases. Playing softball gave me a chance to know other girls on the team and have a place to fit in,” says Smith.
Following her successful attempt at the new sport of softball, Smith felt confident enough to play basketball. For the uninformed, Kendrick has a stellar reputation when it comes to girls’ basketball. Under the direction of head coach Sterling Hicks, Kendrick’s Lady Cherokees are a force to be reckoned with, and those who play in the Kendrick program find out quickly basketball is serious business.
That fact that Smith even wanted to try out says volumes about her self-confidence. She made the junior varsity team, seeing time playing at center, power forward, and small forward. Right away, Smith realized she was not in middle school any more.
“Sports in high school are different. Basketball in middle school is running around and trying to score. High school basketball has better girls who know the game. You have to defend in order to score. It is just different,” she says.
Even before basketball season came to an end, Smith knew she was going to go out for soccer at Kendrick. Just about the only time the 15-year-old shows excitement is when she speaks of the sport. Softball was fun and new, and basketball was challenging and hard work. But soccer? Well, it’s just her.
“I can’t really say why I like soccer, but it comes natural to me. I like softball and basketball, but I am best at soccer, and it is my favorite,” says Smith.
Kendrick has a lot of veteran coaches in its athletic department. One of those veterans is the girls soccer coach, Marilyn Lawton. Having coached at the school for seven years, she can practically tell you about a player, even before the athlete plays a game. With Smith, Coach Lawton already knew the freshman had a solid background in the sport, as well as the athletic ability to make the team.
“Jameshia is a strong player. All of her past coaches highly recommend her, and she has experience. At Kendrick, that is not always the case. Jameshia has experience and soccer skills, and she plays multiple sports and has a great work ethic,” says Lawton.
Athletics provide many benefits for participants. For Smith, sports have given her a chance to broaden her horizons and have the confidence of trying something new, even when the outcome is not guaranteed success. That same confidence has inspired Smith to look to out-of-state colleges once her high school days are over. She would like to attend a school in South Carolina, where she hopes to play soccer and earn a degree in criminal justice. Moving on a little further down the road, she would like to use that degree to become a parole officer.
Although her personality tends to be quiet and thoughtful, Smith has an air of self-assurance about her future and her current life. She also knows that some of that certainty is a direct result of a seven-year-old’s desire to play soccer with friends.
“If it hadn’t been for Girls, Inc., I would not have probably ever tried soccer. They taught me the basics and gave me a foundation to believe I could do something. That is a confidence I have now,” says Smith with a slight smile.
Getting to know Jameshia
Family: Mother, Margaret Williams; Father, James Smith; siblings, a blended family of seven brothers and sisters
Pets: A dog named Tiger
Favorite food: Pizza
Best place to eat in Columbus: Hibachi’s
Music she likes: R&B
Hobbies: Reading non-fiction
Church she attends: Riverview Baptist Church
Favorite movie: Sister’s Keeper
Favorite teams, college or professional: University of Alabama softball, University of Georgia soccer, and Ole Miss Basketball
Best thing about attending Kendrick High School: One-on-one time if you need help with something
Columbus Valley/Freshman Focus/April 2015
Jameshia Smith
Kendrick High School
Columbus, GA
By Beth Welch
Photos by Jerry Christenson
Soccer gives athlete kick of confidence
