With an incredible 2023-2024 season, senior Ivy Williams made an impact at TO that will last a lifetime.
Serving as captain of the girl’s varsity soccer team, which advanced to the CIF quarterfinals, she proved to be an extraordinary asset to the team. That was enough to get her recognized by colleges, and she recently committed to UC Irvine where she will continue her soccer career.
Between playing club soccer and playing for her school, Williams’ has had a love for the sport for as long as she could remember, and it’s become an important part of her life. So did girl’s flag football, which Williams helped lead in its first year as a program at TO.
“I’ve been playing since forever,” Williams said. “I’ve never had life without soccer, but I just continue to develop more love for the sport and competing.”
Williams has come far in her career and developed as a player, but she didn’t make it to this point alone. She’s received help from teammates and coaches, but one person in particular has supported her the most.
“My main role model is actually my dad,” Williams said. “He’s the one who trains me and pushes me to be a better player and he’s always out there improving me.”
One major improvement Williams has noticed when comparing her current self to herself during her first season at TO is in her confidence.
“I was pretty timid and wanted to just get rid of the ball and pass it,” Williams said.
She has always regarded herself as an aggressive player, but it wasn’t until senior year that she really gained the confidence that she has now. Being a student athlete isn’t always easy, but Ivy shared how she manages the stress of school and soccer.
“It’s all about balance,” Williams said. “It helps that I enjoy the sport. It’s hard to keep balance when you’re not fully in what you’re playing, but you just have to find something that you can do that’s not soccer because you can’t let the sport define you. There has to be some escape to go outside of the sport you play.”
When looking back over the season, Williams gave props to the underclassmen for contributing to the great success of the team.“I think it actually helped us that the girls were younger because they’re so open to new ideas, and they’re so flexible, and they look up to you,” Williams said.
She credits not only her talent, but the talent and drive of her teammates for such an amazing season.
It’s always been a dream for Williams to play soccer at the collegiate level, and “senior year definitely re-sparked some admiration to play in college,” Williams said.
“Sometimes [playing is] just okay and you feel a little burnout,” she added, “but this senior season was so good that it just reminded me of the love I have for the game.”
Throughout her career, Williams has had to learn what it takes to be a good athlete. One thing she reminds herself of is that “mistakes aren’t the end of the world and everything happens for a reason,” Williams said. “If you make a mistake, you keep playing. The world’s not gonna stop because you made a mistake or you did something good. It just keeps going, no one’s stopping for you. I think the main thing is just to keep going and persevere through anything that happens on the field.”