Athlete of the Week: Katie Blakeman

Katie Blakeman has definitely made her mark on the soccer field at White County High School, and, as she enters her senior season this month, she is poised to lead the Warriorettes in one final campaign for a post-season spot.

“Katie will play a big role as a leader when we take the field this year,” head coach Madison Mason said.

Blakeman is one of three captains, all seniors and all leading different phases of the game, that the Warriorettes will field this season.

“She is great about directing younger players in ways that they can grow as people as well as develop their game,” Mason said. “She has a great way of encouraging, while teaching and keeping the team motivated to improve.”

Mason said Blakeman will be stepping up into a big defensive role for the Warriorettes this season, filling a void the team had after last year’s class graduated.

“Katie will be a big part of why we will be successful this season,” Mason said. “I look for her to make a huge contribution on defense and really help us change our game.”

Blakeman, who has been playing soccer for 11 years – first in youth leagues and then in travel leagues as well as being a member of both the White County Middle School and then White County High School Warriorettes, has played a variety of positions over her career and said she is looking forward to the challenge of being part of the Warriorettes backfield this season.

“I’ve switched positions every year, just playing wherever I’m needed most,” she said. “Last year I was a striker. This year I am needed on defense, so it’s going to be fun changing it up one more time.”

Being versatile is a lesson Blakeman learned while playing soccer, but one she said may be even more important: not listening to the critics.

“Stick with what you want to do, don’t let anyone talk you out of it because it isn’t ‘cool’ or something. Just keep do you and not what other people tell you [that] you should do,” she said. “I’ve had a lot of fun playing soccer, making friends, and just enjoying my time in high school – all things that might not have happened if I had listened to people tell me what was ‘cool’.”

As Blakeman prepares to start her final season with White County, she is uncertain of whether it will be her final season on a soccer pitch altogether, or just as a Warriorette. Regardless of whether soccer is a part of her post-high school life or not, she has plans that extend beyond being an athlete. She plans to study nursing with aspirations of becoming an anesthetist.

But before she says goodbye to White County High School and heads off to study medical books so she can help others, she is going to soak up every minute of her time as a member of the Warriorette soccer team.

“I am going to miss these girls. I feel like once it hits summer next year and I’m not practicing with them – these girls I’ve spent so much time with over the past seven years – I’m going to be really sad,” she said. “So, I’m going to enjoy all of this and try hard to memorize every moment and soak up all the emotions of this season.”