A New Pitch: Union Senior Hailey Theuret Taking Advantage of Co-op with Redbank Valley to Give Soccer a Try for First Time

RIMERSBURG, Pa. (EYT/D9) — Hailey Theuret stood on the soccer pitch, her heart thumping in her chest.

She was wearing strange colors while playing a sport that was foreign to her.

The Union High School senior had no idea where she was supposed to be or what she was supposed to do as a striker during her first scrimmage as a member of the Redbank Valley girls soccer team.

“Oh, I was so confused,” Theuret said, laughing. “That was a bit humbling because I didn’t know where to stand and the girls were trying to tell me where to go. I didn’t know what I was doing.”

Understandable. Theuret had only watched soccer matches before. Never played in one.

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She had never slipped on cleats. Never kicked a ball. Never made a sliding tackle.

Until this year.

But when Redbank Valley and Union entered into a soccer co-op before this season, Theuret jumped at the chance to try something new.

“I’ve always wanted to play soccer,” Theuret said. “I usually just sit around in the fall. I tried cross country, but didn’t like it — it’s just running. I always liked to watch soccer and thought it would be pretty neat to play. When this opportunity came up, I was like, ‘Hey. Why not?’”

Theuret is the only Union student to take advantage of the co-op this year.

She admitted she felt quite a bit of trepidation about taking on a new sport at a different school as a senior.

“I was nervous. I was so nervous,” Theuret said. “It’s Redbank. I don’t know anyone from there. They are our rivals. But everyone was so welcoming. They were really, really nice to me, and I felt like that helped my nerves.”

Once on the pitch, Theuret had to figure out where she could fit in.

She was a blank slate, but had some of the requisite skills that make for a pretty good soccer player.

Speed, mostly. Theuret is blessed with a lot of it. She’s showed that as the starting point guard and defensive whiz for the Union girls basketball team.

The other skills came fairly quickly. While she won’t be confused with Mia Hamm just yet, Theuret is holding her own.

“She kind of hit the ground running,” said Redbank Valley girls soccer coach Mike Dawson. “I knew about her from basketball and that she was athletic. She’s really started figuring things out. She’s asking a lot of questions. We’ve been trying to figure out in scrimmages and practices the best spot to slot her where she can really excel.”

Theuret said her new Redbank teammates have been invaluable to helping her navigate the steep learning curve.

They are always there with tip, advice and a lot of encouragement.

“They compliment me a lot,” Theuret said. “They say I’m a fast learner. I really only knew one player, Ember Hetrick, and I didn’t really know her well. Now I have a lot of new friends. I like them all.”

The most difficult part for Theuret has been digesting the finer points of the game — things experienced players take for granted.

“The rules and where to stand are definitely the hardest things for me right now,” Theuret said, laughing. “In practice we just did ball skills and I kind of had to learn on the fly about playing a whole new sport like this. That really opened my eyes.”

Theuret got extensive playing time during a scrimmage last week.

“In our scrimmage we played four 20-minutes quarters,” Theuret pauses as a smile cross her face. “I don’t even know if they’re quarters. Halves? They’re halves. Well, I played in every 20-minute half.”

Redbank coaches have played Theuret all over the field to gauge where she is the strongest.

So far, she has gravitated toward defense and midfield.

“I’ve just been kind of thrown in everywhere,” Theuret said, chuckling. “(Assistant coach Megan Nolf) threw me in for defense, and I think I like defense because it’s a lot like playing defense in basketball. “

Theuret will be one of just a few seniors on the Union basketball team this winter under new coach Josh Meeker, who is making his return to the Damsels’ bench after a long hiatus.

He did coach the junior high girls basketball team between head coaching stinks and Theuret played for him.

“I’m excited to kind of take charge this year and be a leader for everybody,” Theuret said. “I went to pretty much every summer league game and open gyms for three months. There’s only a few seniors, so I have to step up.”

Theuret said she is happy she stepped out of her comfort zone and is giving soccer a try this year.

She said she realizes she may not get a lot of playing time. That’s OK. She’s just savoring the experience.

“I’m not used to being not very good at a sport, you know what I mean?” Theuret said. “I always want to do my best in whatever I do and I’m trying to do my best in soccer. Playing time doesn’t matter to me because I’ve never played on those girls have been playing since they were probably five years old. It’s my senior year and I just wanted to try it.”

Redbank Valley, Keystone, and Union/A-C Valley sports coverage on Explore and D9Sports.com is brought to you by Heeter Lumber.