Chazy boys soccer takes regular season title

WEEKEND OF NOV. 5 AND 6, 2022 For the love of the game

Sydney Myers crosses 100 goal, 200 point milestones

SARANAC — If you ever need an example of someone who lives and breathes a subject, just turn your eyes to Saranac girls soccer standout Sydney Myers and her love of soccer.

“Yeah, I definitely would say so,” Myers said.

“When I get home and I’m not doing homework, I definitely am like, ‘Oh, should I go do foot skills? Should I go for a run? Should I go shoot by myself or ask the girls if they want to go do something?’ It’s always on my mind.” HISTORY

Myers, a senior, etched her name among the greats in Section VII history this year when she topped 100 goals and 200 points for her career. She leads the league this year with 31 goals so far.

One of her closest friends since second grade, teammate and fellow senior Lia Parker, says Myers has a true passion for the game.

“You can definitely tell,” Parker said. “We’ll be in a French class or something. She’ll just pop off and say ‘Hey, do you think this is gonna happen today?’ It’s just always on her mind.”

It’s been that way for as long as Myers can remember, going back to when she was four years old.

Her father, T.J., who played soccer in high school, was the one who introduced Sydney to the game.

“He’s been my coach ever since I played Mite soccer,” Myers said. “He’s coached me all the way up through my club team. He helps even when he’s in the booth and we’re playing on my high school team. Yeah, I always look over to him and he’s my coach all the time.”

Sydney joked that her dad is “pretty hardcore” when it comes to coaching. If she performs poorly, she knows he’ll be the first to tell her.

“He even lets me know the truth and what I need to work on which I like a lot,” she said. “I like that he does that because he knows that I can be better than I am. and he wants me to know that.”

It doesn’t stop there, as hardly a day goes by that Myers is not wanting to play soccer.

“I don’t think there’s a day where I don’t want to go play soccer,” she said. “It’s always my main motivation and what I always want to do every day. Like when I’m at school, I always look forward to coming to practice after and having fun.”

Having fun comes easier when you are a natural in the sport you love.

“I definitely felt like I was just naturally able to play the sport,” Myers said. “It didn’t really ever really feel complicated for me to actually have to like focus. I take a lot of time out of soccer, and work on my own foot skills and I run and to stay in shape.” NATURAL TALENT

Saranac coach Amber Liberty remembers seeing Sydney’s natural talent at a young age.

“I remember watching her at Cadyville Recreation Park and telling my husband, ‘Wow, wait until you see this kid,’” Liberty said. “And he was like, ‘Okay?’ and I said, ‘No, I watched her like school three boys, pull it back, and send the ball through to the other side.’ and she must have been eight, nine years old.”

Nothing is more proof of her commitment and skill than her march to 100 goals, which she secured on Senior Night at Saranac High School on Oct. 15. It wasn’t even on her mind until she got towards the century mark. Myers’ parents were the ones who pointed out she was close to 100, and she felt determined to get it.

“We absolutely knew, I mean, but you never also know in life, like you could be sidelined for anything at any given point,” Liberty said. “And we’ve talked about that. But, with her mindset and her work ethic that girl never stops, like 24/7, 365 days a year there was never a doubt in my mind that she wasn’t going to break (the mark).”

If anyone knows Myers, they know she’s the farthest from heaping praise on herself, and always the one to shine the light on her teammates.

Liberty added that there are times when she looks over and Myers is helping and coaching the younger players to make them better.

Liberty said Meyers demands excellence in those around her, by demanding that in herself. She’s a true leader.

“When on the field, she’s obviously a bee,” Parker said. “She is a team player. She’s always been a leader ever since she was in eighth grade. She moved up to varsity. She’s just one of those kids that has that spark. You can see it when she’s on the field. and off the field, she’s really the same way. She talks about soccer a lot, but she’s a great friend and a great teammate.” FAMILY

Those who know Myers know how much her family means to her.

Her parents have been to every game she’s played and that is likely to continue for the remainder of her career.

“I wouldn’t be where I am today without them,” Myers said. “They come to every single one of my games. They bring me everywhere. They cheer me on every single game. They are my biggest supporters. If something ever happened to them, I don’t think I’d be able to play.’

It doesn’t stop with her immediate family either. Myers said her grandparents watch her games and text her after each one. If she was to not receive a text, she’d wonder if everything was okay.

It shouldn’t surprise anyone when you ask her about her favorite memory. It’s not hitting 100 goals, or surpassing 200 career points against AuSable Valley in September. It was playing with her sister, Kayla, who is a junior defender at Plattsburgh State.

“We had a tournament at Saranac, and always against NCCS,” Sydney said. “We hadn’t won it for a while. I crossed the ball to her and she scored the final goal, in maybe the last 10 seconds. We ended up winning. It’s easily my most favorite memory.”

But, she also has a second family,

PHOTO PROVIDED BY C.R. TUNES SPORTS PHOTOGRAPHY Sydney Myers began playing for the varsity team at Saranac in the eighth grade. She’s planning to play in college for St. Rose.

ROBERT ASHLEY/SSIP40 SPORTS PHOTOGRAPHY

Sydney Myers scores her 100th goal against Saranac Lake on Senior Night, October 15. The Chiefs would defeat the Red Storm 10-0.

the girls she’s played soccer with for years, especially the seven fellow seniors on the Chiefs, many of whom have played together as members of the Plattsburgh Football Club.

“I think they are my best friends and I’ll probably never ever have greater friends than them,” Myers said.

“We all just have this bond where we always know each other and we know that if we lose the ball or we need to look for someone to score they’re gonna be right there. We can always depend on each other, and we all have each other’s backs. We know that if someone messes up it’s fine. We’ll just get it back together.” THE FUTURE

Right now, the Chiefs are in the mix for sectionals, with the Class B Sectional Final set for today against Beekmantown.

But, what’s the plan for after soccer and even after the school year is over?

Myers is set to attend the College of St. Rose in Albany. For now, she’s simply focused on taking it one day at a time.

“I’m trying to just enjoy high school,” Myers said. “I’ve taken a lot of classes that are really challenging, kind of like college courses. So, I can’t really enjoy my senior year too much because I don’t have much free time. I don’t want to have much time to relax because I know once I leave and I leave my family, it’s going to be intense and I’m not going to want a lot of free time. I’m kind of trying to transition myself now.”

Liberty, an alum of St. Rose, has said she and Myers have joked about records being broken.

“I’ll just tease ‘You know, it seemed like you broke all of my records [at Saranac] and now you’re going to St Rose to beat my records,’” Liberty said. “‘I’ve said leave me alone.’ and she just smiles like her little innocent smile.”

There is a timetable to when Myers will hang up the cleats, and that probably will be after she finishes college.

“I love soccer, but I also really want to teach and want to just kind of grow and have a life and start my own family and stuff and just kind of start from scratch and just kind of have my own life,” she said.

Myers will not completely give up the sport she’s loved all her life. If she has her way, she’ll follow more in Liberty’s path and become a teacher and eventual coach.

“I love the younger kids,” she said. “I love seeing people get better. Like in soccer, if someone’s struggling, I’ll just be like, ‘Yeah, next time try this and it might help.’”

But, that is the schedule for a later date.

Right now she’s playing a game she loves with her closest friends and her family in the stands. Does it get any better? If you ask Sydney, she doubts it does.