By BYRON BEERS

Alyssa Cunningham, a senior at Sand Springs, has been around the game of soccer for 16 years and credits her head coach as a huge inspiration.

“I feel the thing that I feel like I have improved most on throughout my high school career is my mindset,” Cunningham said. “My high school coach, Cisco Chavez, has been a huge inspiration and helped me learn to continue to work through my mistakes and never give up.

The Sandites had a record of 6-3 through April 10. After back-to-back losses to Enid and Jenks, they bounced back to blank Choctaw, 9-0, on April 7.

“This season is very exciting considering it’s my senior season,” Cunningham said. “As an individual, my main goal is to just work my hardest and encourage my team to do their best. From a team standpoint, I believe in our team and I can see us doing very well this season.”

Cunningham and the Sandites made school history last season. Sand Springs went 11-5 and advanced to the Class 6A Playoffs.

“One of the most memorable moments from my high school career would have to be our team beating Union for the first time ever in history,” Cunningham said. “My favorite achievements from last year have to be our team’s accomplishments, or beating teams we’ve never beat before and making it to the playoffs.”

Cunningham puts her primary focus on the classroom and wants to carry that forward following graduation.

“I always put academics above all else, so any free time will go towards my academics and if that is all done then I will make time for friends and family,” she said. “My main goal is to succeed in college and continue to make good grades. My plans after high school are just to go to college and get my MBA with a marketing focus.”

During her free time, Cunningham likes hanging out with friends and going to the gym. Her favorite drill is the world cup because of the competitiveness, and her favorite part of being a student-athlete at Sand Springs is the friendships she’s made in her four years.