Making the transition to the high school playing field can be intimidating for an incoming freshman.
Mya Wooton, however, had the appearance of a wily veteran during her first year at Woodrow Wilson.
The reigning Lootpress Girls Soccer Player of the Year made a huge impact on the pitch, the track and the basketball court last year while somehow finding time to play a little softball.
“Mya has the drive and she feels like every ball is hers. When she plays, she is support player, but she also a kid that feels like that ball is mine and I am going to make it happen,” Woodrow Wilson girls soccer coach Julie Agnor said. “To find that drive in girls can be a challenge. I have had a few players in the past that have been like her and they are the ones that tend to succeed. Those girls really drive a team. When you have a player like that, the rest of the team is motivated and comes along side.”
While Wooton’s success on the pitch may have caught some fans and teams by surprise, Agnor knew exactly what to expect from her young star.
“Mya and I go way back. I coached her when she was nine years old and she was special then. I kind of new what was coming,” Agnor said, smiling. “She has also done a lot of training up north with some of the travel teams up there. She looks at the field to see where she can be open and what ball she will get next. She is always planning ahead.”
The scrappy midfielder scored two second half goals to help the Flying Eagles win the Class AAA Region 3, Section 2 title which was the first in Agnor’s four-year tenure.
In addition to being named Lootpress Player of the Year, Wooton was also earned first-team all-state honors from the West Virginia High School Soccer Coaches Association.
“I didn’t expect it to go like that last year. I just wanted everybody to do good,” Wooton said. “I knew we had a good group of girls and that we could go far. I really wanted to see how far I could progress, but I feel like this year will be much better for me.”
Wooton’s progress over the season was easy to see and even though the Flying Eagles eventually fell to state champions George Washington in regional play, as a young freshman, she gave the veteran Patriots fits all night.
“I realized when I played against better competition that I played my best games and had my best performances,” Wooton said. “I guess I was just hungry and wanted to prove that we could beat them.”
A good portion of that confidence came from the fact that Agnor held her young team’s feet to the fire by playing a rugged schedule during the regular season.
“I got to see the different levels of play and different teams with different attributes. I also got to see how I could perform and play against those teams. When I realized that, I knew what to do in those games,” Wooton said.
After soccer season, her speed and aggressive style of play became an asset during basketball season for head coach Brian Nabor’s up-tempo style of play.
“I decided to try out and I found out I had plenty of time to stick with it and get better. I am hoping this year we can be better and win our section,” Wooton said. “I think soccer and basketball are my two most similar sports. It helps with jumping and being powerful in the legs. It’s really the same movement, one you use your feet and the other you use your hands.”
Wooton starting running track in sixth grade to help increase her speed for soccer. The by-product of that work on the track paid off this past spring when she earned all-state honors at the state track meet in Charleston.
“I got third-place in the 400 meter. I ran a 58.9 maybe, but I finally broke a minute. I had never broke a minute before,” Wooton said. “In the 100 meter I finished in seventh place, but I did run my (personal best). Our 4×200 meter relay team finished second against Jefferson and no one has beat them for like the last four years. We are hoping to beat them next year because we are a very young team. I got better throughout the year on the track.”
Like all standout athletes, Wooton has a relentless work ethic which has kept her extremely busy all summer preparing for the upcoming season.
“That is usual for me. This year I played a lot of big tournaments. I went to Blue Chip and Jefferson Cup which is really hard to get in to,” Wooton explained. “I had a guest play with a whole bunch of teams and I went to Florida with a Cup team out of Cincinnati. I have just been going everywhere. We did State Cup (in Beckley). I am also hoping to get into an eastern regional team and go to Florida in November. It’s my passion and I do it all the time.”
Already a handful for opposing defenders, Agnor only sees Wooton getting better with age.
“She needs to decide when to be selfish and when not to be selfish. It’s very hard. A lot of times when they feel like the ball is theirs, they will dribble too long. That is one of those things that comes with maturity,” Agnor said. “She has always been taught to not be selfish, but it is so hard because it has to be balanced. Sometimes I want her to be selfish and sometime not. Just learning when that is will be key to her growth.”
