Coaches tend to not be big fans of selfishness.
It’s a trait most don’t welcome under most circumstances.
Such was not the case with Elizabethtown senior Josie Kremzar and girls’ soccer coach Pat Black.
“She really had to come out of her shell of being too unselfish,” he said. “She had to be a little bit more of an individual player. She was always sharing and trying to do for others. We needed her to do a little bit more individually just to be better for our team.
“She did better at that at the end of her senior year than she did at the beginning of her freshman year. That’s where she really improved.”
Kremzar, a central figure for the Lady Panthers in the past four seasons, when they went 61-20-4, will continue her academic and athletic careers at the University of Evansville, where she will be a member of the women’s soccer program.
“He used to always say to me, ‘You pass too much. You could have just taken that shot,’” Kremzar said. “Sometimes I would think in my head, ‘You need to dribble on and beat this player. You can’t pass it.’ I just have to tell myself because sometimes I would forget.
“It’s easy for me to pass the ball to one of my players because I’m always looking to pass. But sometimes you just have to ...”
Be selfish.
Kremzar learned that this year in part because teammate Gabby Garcia was out most of the season with an injury.
“Gabby being hurt actually did help me realize that I needed to take the ball more,” Kremzar said. “I would just pass it to Gabby and she would just dribble past everyone. I thought, ‘I can try to do what Gabby does, too.’”
Black agreed.
“She had to be more selfish,” he said. “She was going to have to take charge and be a leader and take the ball sometimes and she did a good job with that.
“She’s always been a skillful player, a very smart player. She tended to give the ball up too much when she could probably do better with it herself.
“She’s ingrained to be nice and friendly and help others out. She could have an open shot, but she would lay the ball off to not a better shot. That was really something she had to overcome. She’s still a little bit too nice and too friendly. She shares the ball too much. That’s weird to say about a player.”
Kremzar was the leading scorer for the Lady Panthers as a freshman. She had 11 goals and six assists as the program went 14-4-2.
She added 36 goals and 37 assists in her sophomore and junior seasons combined.
“I think that it helps me that we (the Lady Panthers) played competitive teams with other kids who are going DI,” Kremzar said. “I know what to expect. I’m not going to be shocked when I go to college.”
Kremzar said she may get moved from midfield to outside back.
“As long as I play, I don’t care,” she said. “Whatever they tell me, I’ll do.”
Kremzar totaled 13 goals and 18 assists as a senior to finish her career with 60 goals and 61 assists.
“Soccer was always for fun,” she said. “I guess it was sixth- or seventh-grade where I thought that I really wanted to play in college. I want to do this as long as I can because it’s something I really enjoy.
“I feel like the pressure started about eighth-grade, freshman year because you realize coaches are coming to watch. You have to do your best. You have to impress them. I wanted to play in college no matter what and I would try my best to get play as high as I can.
“I just realized that DI is really competitive and I felt it would suit me the best.”
Evansville loses six seniors off a 2-12-3 season.
“My dad grew up there and my whole family is from there,” Kremzar said. “I just really loved the campus and I loved the coaches.
“I just think it’s a good fit for me. It’s a good school, smaller and that’s what I want.”
2020-01-20 05:20:29Z
https://www.thenewsenterprise.com/sports/girls-soccer-all-aces-for-kremzar-senior-midfielder-to-play/article_bde6f5ad-b4f3-53a8-8967-65153023fbe6.html
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