The Chattanooga FC Academy is experiencing its most stable and successful period in the four-year history of the club. The best soccer players and coaches in the region are coming under the CFCA umbrella. The Scenic City Cup just registered 200+ teams to make it the largest soccer tournament in recent memory. Nike has decided to invest in CFCA and designate it as one of a very few Nike Premier Clubs in the country. Local corporations are investing with partnership money to grow our scholarship fund and improve coach training.

With that success brings more athletes to spotlight. The second in our monthly series introduces us to a young lady who has the skill, speed and toughness to handle one of our sport’s most demanding positions: center fullback. Kate Dirkse, 15, is a defensive-minded athlete who loves to take on her opponents’ best forwards and beat them. She trains with CFCA Coach Chris Hennessey and plays for CFCA 01 Premier.

CFCA:  How did you get your start in soccer?  

Kate:  “I started playing in the second grade. My brother had played and I guess that’s how I got started.  I started really liking it in 7th grade (age 12) when I started playing for CFCA. 

CFCA:  What did you do from second through sixth grade?

Kate:  “I mostly played rec league. My school had a rec team I played with. In sixth grade I played a few  tournaments with the Storm (Signal Mountain), but I hurt myself and couldn’t play anymore. That summer I started playing for CFCA.”

CFCA:  Do you play for your school as well? 

Kate:  “Yes. I play center fullback for CCS”

CFCA:  What would your CFCA coach say about your play?

Kate:  “I think he would probably say my strengths are 50/50 balls, one-on-one defending, and the ability to win the ball out of the air.”

CFCA:  How do you like the way that Coach Chris trains you?

Kate:   “I like how much we work on possession and the ability to keep the ball during a game. That’s one of our main focuses when we play.  Play fast and being able to keep the ball. I think that’s a very important element of soccer, to be able to not just kick the ball around, but keep it so you can have chances to score. I like doing that. I think Coach Chris is the first Coach that really taught me that it’s important when you get the ball in the back you help start the possession moving forward. So, that’s what I really like about him.”

CFCA:  Do you do any additional training outside of CFCA?  

Kate:  “I do work on my own sometimes.  I have field space at CCS so I go out there and work on my ball striking and technical stuff on my own, but other than that it’s mostly just CFCA training.”

CFCA:  How do you prepare yourself for a match?

Kate:  “I like to get focused, just go into a game prepared for anything, for a good team coming. Be ready. Tell myself that I have to be ready for a good forward to come. I like to talk around with my teammates. It settles my mind a little more and prepares me for the game.”

CFCA:  Strikers find glory in scoring, goalkeepers find glory in making the game-winning save. What do center fullbacks find glory in? 

Kate:  “Probably a game that you keep the other team completely shut-out.  No goals.  You keep them from having any good chances, and you come away knowing that you helped your team win because that team didn’t have a chance to score.”

CFCA:  So, when we were looking for this month’s athlete spotlight of the month your name came up multiple times. Why do you think this is?

Kate:  (laughing) “I don't know.  I guess I’m known for winning 50/50 balls and headers - that kind of stuff.  I don’t know.  But, I couldn’t give you an exact reason my name came up more than once.” 

CFCA:  We’re guessing it’s because you’re pretty good.

Kate:  (laughs)

CFCA:  CFCA has had so many young ladies recruited to put play collegiate soccer.

Has any college approached you yet?  

Kate:  “I've had two or three schools watching my progress through high school and CFCA so far.”

CFCA:  Who is your role model?  

Kate:  “My dad.  He brings a work ethic to everything he does.  He keeps me going.

He’s taught me to work hard in school and sports.”

CFCA:  How have your parents contributed to the success of your soccer career so far?

Kate:  “They taught me how to work hard and not take for granted what I have.

They taught me that you can't just do what you do in practice and leave it there. You have to take it outside of practice and just do it on your own to get better at it.”

CFCA:  Tell us about Kate when she's off the pitch. Are you involved in any activities or with any organizations?

Kate: “I play basketball for CCS in the winter. I like to find time to hang out with my friends and just try to get school work done in the middle of all the chaos with sports.”

CFCA:  Who's your favorite professional team?

Kate:  “I like CFC.”

CFCA:  Good answer!

CFCA: Who's your favorite player?

Kate:  “Women’s player:  I like Julie Johnson, center back, U.S. National Team.”

CFCA:  Where do you see yourself in three years when you’re ready to go to college?

Kate:  “Hopefully going to play soccer at a Division III, Division II, Division I school and having a scholarship to go is what I hope to have.”

CFCA:  Have you seen new the uniforms?

Kate:  “Yeah, they are really cool. I like ‘em.”

CFCA:  Any advice for younger center fullbacks you’d like to share?

Kate:  “I would say if you do lose or a goal is scored it's not only your fault. That’s what I’ve struggled with a lot of times. Because if we lose 1-0 and you think you could have saved it, you put a lot of pressure on yourself. It’s not always your fault.  Everyone contributes to the team. I would say that's the most important thing to remember.”