As you walk out of the cafeteria and enter the SHS parking lot, you may notice the gray minivan packed with soccer players. Cleats are spread out on the pavement and the trunk is open while girls try to stuff their school bags in with their soccer gear. Meghan James leads the group as she takes the front seat and hauls the pack of her teammates to practice.

   James has been the goal keeper for Scituate High School’s varsity girls soccer team in the fall  for four years now.  In the winter she cheers for the varsity boys basketball team and in the Spring lead the track team as captain. But the her main sport is soccer. Playing three varsity games her freshman year, James proved her skills early in her high school soccer career.

    Taking her first step on the field at the early age of five, James has grown up with the sport. “I remember being at Cushing School, in Mr. C’s league and my coach told me to stand ‘right there’ and I stood there the entire game,” James said as she recollects on her first memory playing soccer. “I scored all the goals as a child.”

    But James’s real skill wasn’t in the field, but in the net. “I was too slow to keep up with everyone else so I sat in the net and it turns out, I wasn’t too bad,” James said. She has since played on five teams including Scituate Recreation, Scituate Travel, Galway Rovers elite team, and the Crusaders United Soccer Club.

    The girls’ varsity soccer team has been doing very well in their season so far. James has only conceded one goal in all of the teams’ league games and has had countless shutouts. Her seriousness on the field is what makes her stand out. As she calls instructions to the defense, it is clear that she is one of the main driving forces for success as the captain of her team.

    James’s previous coach, Mr. Maki, said he had spotted her “great work ethic and willingness to learn” early in her soccer career. While talking about James, Mr. Maki found his words coming easily as he praised the athlete. “If I could have Meghan come with me that would have been great,” he said when he talked about leaving the girls team and coaching boys varsity soccer. “I wish I could have spent all four years with her.”

 She not only inspires her coaches, but her teammates as well. “She is a great leader on our team, being the only senior, and is very organized,” junior Marlaina Reidy said. Playing with James for four years, Reidy sees her as “someone that everyone who is younger can look up to and ask questions to if they need anything, she’s always offering everyone a ride home if they need it and she’s always in a good mood both on and off the field.” The genuine love and support this team has for James is obvious and she full heartedly cares for her team.

    “My biggest love for the sport has to be being on the team just because everyone has all their own separate friend groups but we come together as a team. Your team is your friends and you’re all trying to accomplish the same goal,” James said. “And the bond that I gain from it is what makes me come back to soccer.” James could not dream of stepping off the field for good. She is planning to play in college and hopes to share her twelve years of skill with her future teammates. No matter what stress or frustrations James has, as she steps onto the soccer field everything else disappears. She said, “The rush I get when I play, it’s just thrilling.”