Q&A with Girls Soccer Senior Captain Nikki Lynch

When speaking with assistant head coach Denise Johnston of the girls soccer team, one player came to mind as the star player of the Rams squad: senior captain Nikki Lynch.

She has been a part of the team all four years in high school and also played for the popular West-Mont United travel team, growing up with some of the best girls soccer players in the area.

Lynch took some time to sit down with Limerick-Royersford-Spring City Patch to discuss her soccer career and life in general in this week’s Q&A.

LRSC Patch: How long have you been playing soccer for?

Nikki Lynch: Probably about 12 or 13 years. I've been playing since I was really young.

Patch: When did you realize you fell in love with it, when did you realize you were good at it and have you played at a higher competitive level than high school?

Lynch: Well, my first travel team that I got onto and really started and was with for like five or six years was West-Mont United. I'm still best friends with a lot of the girls on the team. Maddie War was on the team and a lot of the girls on Perkiomen Valley. We're all really close. That's when I fell in love with the game, just because I was so close with all the girls and we made it a lot of fun. Right before high school is when I actually realize that this is what I want to do and this is the sport I'm best at. It's a lot of fun to me and I love playing.

Patch: Are you playing any other sports in the winter or spring?

Lynch: Yeah. I do basketball and track.

Patch: Three-sport athlete... Tell me a little bit about how you balance your time.

Lynch: Sometimes it's hard because once I end the season, I'm right into the next sport, but I just love everything about Spring-Ford sports. Basketball is really competitive between the coaches and the players. Everyone's together and it's so much fun with track. I'm a competitive person and I love playing sports and doing it all the time.

Patch: Do you think you're best at soccer out of the three?

Lynch: Out of the three? I would probably say yeah. It's the sport I'm most into, so I put the most effort into that out of school time.

Patch: Are you planning to play at the collegiate level?

Lynch: Right now, I'm hoping to. For right now, I'm looking at Pitt and Penn State, not to play on the team. My main goal is to get into a good school. I want to go to a big school like that and get on the club team. I've been in contact with both of the coaches. They said if I end up actually going to the school, I can always talk to them and try out for the spring team.

Patch: What are your aspirations as far as academics go, in college? Are you looking at a major at this point?

Lynch: Right now, my whole life, I've been trying to figure out what I want to do. I always change my mind. My dad's a detective and I'm really into that. So, my top choice would probably be criminal justice. But, I'm also interested in elementary education, because I love kids and I think that it would be a really great job.

Patch: Tell me about your time here at Spring-Ford. It being your senior year, you'll be wrapping things up soon. Tell me about some of your best memories on and off the field.

Lynch: Let's see... For soccer, definitely all of our team trips to Shady Maple and just team bonding, like staying after practice or games and decorating the locker room or sitting there and talking and team sleepovers and dinners are a lot of fun.

Patch: What about on the field? Do you have a specific game that you remember as the best game you ever played?

Lynch: Hmm... I don't really know. I remember freshman year, we beat Boyertown, 2-0. That was the first time on turf and we never lost on the turf field. It was a really good game.

Patch: Last question. If you could go back one year and talk to yourself and give yourself some tips to better prepare yourself for senior year, what would you tell yourself?

Lynch: Probably more of the offseason on my own kind of training. Before the season started, we would get together on Sundays as a team and I also had my club team training, but if I could do anything, I would probably come to the turf by myself and just practice anything, like shooting, cone drills and all of that - just to get myself more prepared.