Nina Pimental, of West Amwell
Jenny Zidzik started her senior year at South Hunterdon Regional High School last year not really knowing what to expect.
Sure, she knew she would be busy with her course schedule and completing college applications, but what she hadn’t planned on was playing soccer. That opportunity had never presented itself before so she thought, why not?
The soccer players at South suggested she play on the new team because the Board of Education voted yes to girls soccer. She wasn’t playing a fall sport, and it might even look good on a college resume.
Jenny’s senior year started, and there she was, playing soccer. Who knew?
It turns out her favorite position was goalie. At her first soccer game, there were no goalie gloves for the girls team so Jenny simply played without them! Do you have any idea how hard a soccer ball is, especially when it is being blasted into a goal?
Jenny not only hung in there without gloves, but she started as goalie and played that position all season. Unfortunately, her season ended early because she got mono. She was upset, and never had that feeling of playing her last high school soccer game. The itch to continue playing soccer lingered.
Fast forward to this fall soccer season. Jenny is now enrolled at Morrisville State College of New York (SUNY Morrisville) in the College of Agriculture and Technology.
Outside the classroom, she spends much of her time with the college women’s soccer team. The Mustangs were looking for a goalie so, once again, Jenny thought, why not?
She told the coach she only had one year of experience playing soccer and only played one position — goalie. Luckily for Jenny, the coach gave her the starting goalie position where she averages 80 minutes a game.
Jenny also feels fortunate that her soccer training is with Hilary Simons (the assistant coach and goalie coach) who is a four-time 8 Empire team selection and Empire 8 Defense Player of the Year for goal-keeping.
According to Jenny, that means her coach is “insanely good.”
Jenny Zidzik is happy that she had the opportunity to play on the girls soccer team at South. The experience brought her closer to other girls she didn’t really know well, and by the end of the season, loved them all.
The experience, she says, was excellent in terms of developing leadership skills, bonding with others, staying fit and, obviously, improving her soccer skills.
Thank you, South Hunterdon Board of Education, for providing opportunities like this one for Jenny. A special thanks goes to Nicole Claus on the BOE, who consistently spoke out for what was fair — an opportunity for girls at South to have their own soccer team.
This is a great success story, and I’m sure there will be many, many more just like these coming out of this great little school we call South.
Go Eagles!
