For the third straight year, Pine Belt Sports has now named a Sumrall soccer player as the area girls player of the year. In the last two years, Caragan Childs came away with the honor, but the Lady Bobcats may have a name that could own the honor for the next several years to come.
Now carrying the torch for the Lady Bobcats is eighth-grader Addie Siders. Despite her young age, Siders led the Lady Bobcats in scoring and was vital in helping the team get to the second round of the 4A playoffs, which is what earned her the honor as Pine Belt Sports Girls Soccer Player of the Year for the 2020-21 season.
“This is very important, and I am so honored to have this,” she said. “It just proves that all of my hard work has paid off, and it’s also a reflection of the team’s success and not mine.”
Heading into the season, replacing the production of Childs was a top concern for Sumrall, and Siders answered the call by scoring 23 goals and coming up with 11 assists. Siders also had six games for when she scored two or more goals and two games in which she scored hat tricks. Siders says that she is always trying to emulate Childs.
“Losing Caragan was obviously a big deal,” Addie Siders said. “She was such an amazing player and an amazing person. She was really my role model, and I looked up to her. We are just trying to carry on her legacy.”
According to Sumrall coach Todd Siders, one of Addie’s strongest qualities is her leg strength, making her an effective midfielder as she racked up 209 steals.
“(Addie) has such a great ability of winning the ball and moving the ball from the middle,” Todd Sider said. “She has a great first touch. She has the ability with both of her feet to play 50-yard balls and stop the defenses from side to side, and stretch the defense out. If they play high, she takes the opportunity to get behind them, and if they play the ball low, then it gives her the opportunity to drop the ball forward. She has scored a lot of goals outside of 18 (yards) because she has that kind of power on her shot.
“She hits balls off her left foot that you think came off her right foot so she can use both of her feet really well. The power she has on her shot at her age is unique and is a danger for opposition teams.”
Another noticeable quality for Addie, who stands at 5-foot-7-inches, is her soccer I.Q. According to Addie, who started as a seventh-grader and scored 18 goals last season, studying the game is something she regularly does.
“Last year was a very good learning curve,” Addie Siders said. “I learned a lot last year. Playing last year really helped develop me as a player and get me ready for this season. The biggest lesson that I learned is that you have to keep going and keep pushing. In the end, it’ll be all worth it. With the crazy year with the pandemic and everything, it’s been hard and challenging on all of us. It’s made me self-reflect on myself.
“I study the game as much as I can. Any free time I get in school, I always have a game on my computer. I’m always studying, watching, and finding ways that I can be better. I love learning new things about the game, working on my skill, and trying to find new ways to be better.”
While Addie Siders showcased a memorable season, she finished the year with a calf injury and missed the team’s second-round playoff game. Even though she says it was a great experience to cheer for her team on the sidelines, it has left her extra motivated for next season.
“I have a fire in me that’s ready to go and work hard and push myself and the team harder,” Addie Siders said. “I believe that we can go far next year. I think as a whole, we still have more to leave on the field, and we still have more to improve. I think we are all ready to put in that work this next season and win state. That’s our big goal.”
