Mineola junior Riley Weekly has competed on the high school soccer team as its only female member.

(Monitor photo by John Arbter)

Ask Mineola High School junior Riley Weekly about soccer season and she is likely to respond with, “Which one?” The young soccer enthusiast’s year has four seasons: spring club soccer, summer workout season, fall club soccer and Mineola high school varsity soccer.

The schedule can wreak havoc with the traditional events of a high school junior.

“Yes, I have a conflict this year between a game and the prom,” Weekly admitted. Without asking, one can be pretty certain which of those events will win the day. Weekly lives for soccer.

The relationship between the player and the sport started, predictably, in youth soccer at the age of four. “She just seemed to have a knack for soccer and just took to it,” said her mother, Halli.  

There were some athletic genes in the mix, as well. Both parents, Halli and Terrell Weekly, were talented scholastic athletes. 

That initial foray into organized soccer led to the Lindale youth leagues and eventually to the FC Dallas club team.

“Fortunately, only the games are played in Dallas,” said Halli, “the practices are done in Tyler.” 

Two years of playing at the club level with FC Dallas eventually led to a decision point for Riley. She had come to question her continued affiliation with the game.

“It was the influence of my coach at the time, Skyler Clarkston, which rekindled my commitment to the sport,” she explained. “He made it fun again,” she said with a smile. 

Like many athletes, Weekly has a difficult time explaining exactly what it is that connects her so completely with the sport – that makes it fun. However a chat about soccer offers some clues.

“The relationships within a team are absolutely key,” she began. Those relationships result in knowing what your teammates’ movements and actions will be without having to look she explained. 

Hand in glove with relationships are the human mechanics which result in 11 players moving in a coordinated fashion as a single entity.

“With each person responsible for a specific role, it is a thing of beauty when it locks together and works,” Weekly stated.

Weekly was quick to add that without clear, timely communications on the pitch, that mechanism simply cannot work efficiently.

“When those things come together, the relationships, the movement and the communications,” she said, “nothing else matters.” Weekly had just described fun in the soccer sense. 

A midfielder who has no problem playing forward, Weekly could not discount the euphoria of scoring. 

She described the goal. It had come against Tatum. Nathan Rojas had found Omar Galaz with a nice pass ahead. Rojas’ shot was saved, but the rebound escaped the goalkeeper. Weekly stepped up and slotted it home into the bottom left corner. 

“The adrenalin rush lasted about five full minutes,” she expressed, “then it was back to business.”

Weekly’s year with the Yellowjackets was notable not simply because she was the only female on the team, but because of her fearless and physical style of play, her work rate, and the respect which she was shown as a teammate and an opponent.

“I like all my teammates, they are all just great guys,“ she offered.

Weekly said that they did not give her any breaks but challenged her as a soccer player. 

She explained that the speed of the boys’ game took some getting used to, but she was never disrespected on the pitch.

“I heard a few comments from opposing fans about not letting a girl beat you, but on the pitch it was all respectful,” she noted. Weekly paused and added, “and of course it was a new kind of fun for me to win a ball against the boys.”

Her talk of Mineola’s soccer program, from the camaraderie to the coaching, is nothing but positive. She described how certain personalities on the squad, such as Gustavo Sanchez and Yimi Nunez, made everything fun, while the leadership of Nathan Rojas ensured the team was ready. Also noteworthy, she added, were the strategies and tactics taught by Coach Shelby Turner.  

“We always knew what the opponent was trying to exploit and how to counter it,” she explained of Turner’s counsel.

“I only have one year left to play with the Jackets,” she admitted, “but it wouldn’t surprise me to see a girls’ soccer program fielded in the next 2-3 years.”

Weekly anticipated that as more class 3A schools build their soccer programs, girls’ programs would be forthcoming.

What lies ahead for Weekly is a focus on joining a collegiate program. Texas A&M, Texas State and Stephen F. Austin are some of the schools that come up in conversation regarding the future. The dream, of course, would be to work her way onto the USA Woman’s national team. 

One thing is certain.

“I will keep soccer in my life as long as I can,” stated the young midfielder.