BAKER — History was made at Baker School on Tuesday when Kali Haven became the first Gator soccer player to sign scholarship papers.
Haven is headed to Wesleyan College, a National Collegiate Athletic Association Division III school, in Macon, Ga.
“Soccer is my favorite sport and I just love it to death,” she said. “It means a lot to me that I’m the first to leave the school I grew up in to go and play (college) soccer.”
Haven chose the Wesleyan because of the relationship she built with Wolves Coach Paige Hightower.
“Me and the coach just kind of connected,” Haven, who led the Gators in scoring with 17 goals, said.
Haven will play attack midfielder at Wesleyan.
A multi-sport athlete at Baker, Haven believes the skill sets she developed running cross country and track for the Gators will translate well as she moves to the college level.
“Being in so many sports it does keep me in shape year round,” she said. “With cross country and everything it keeps my endurance up. In track I do the sprints so my short distance is pretty fast.
“Having done both help in soccer because it’s kind of a combination of both of them (the endurance of running long periods of time and the burst of speed needed to make a play on the ball).”
Gator girls soccer Coach Ashley Treadway sees a bright future in soccer for Haven.
“I think Kali is going to be successful because she has a knowledge of the game and that’s hard to teach,” Treadway said. “That knowledge of the game comes from playing year round. And she is a very versatile player.
“She has played striker for us. She has also played midfield and on the back of the defense. I think her knowledge and her drive to want to play is going to have a big influence on their team.”
Hightower also praised Haven in a statement on the Wesleyan website.
“Kali has been a confident and aggressive midfielder for her high school and club teams,” Hightower said. “She makes a statement offensively, scoring 17 goals for her team last season.
“I look forward to her taking on the role of center-mid and creating more scoring opportunities for us this fall. She has a very charismatic personality and will be a great fit for not only the Wesleyan soccer team but for the school as well."
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This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Baker's Haven makes Gator history (VIDEO)