West was superstar in softball, soccer, basketball
Sometimes you just have to travel far to accomplish things in life. The distance takes one away from family and friends, but everything works out in the long run.
That was the mindset June 17, when Rehoboth Christian High School’s Tyra West selected Ohio Valley University to attend college, come fall.. West signed a letter-of-intent to play soccer and softball at OVU.
“I’m very happy with my decision,” West said. “I will be playing soccer and softball and that was part of the reason I selected Ohio Valley. At first, I thought I’d just be playing one sport and not the other, but at Ohio Valley I have the chance to play both.”
West was a particular terror on the softball field the past four seasons for the District 1-3A Lady Lynx. Rehoboth ended the 2016 softball season with a 19-6, 4-2 overall record. At Rehoboth, West said she learned a lot about the three sports she played, saying she never put academics second to basketball, soccer, or softball.
“I studied, even though I had to practice a lot,” West said. “The coaches were very helpful in stressing the importance of academics.”
West said she’ll miss her family and friends at Rehoboth, saying they are all just a plane ride away.
“I will miss everybody,” West said. “Yes, I will definitely miss Rehoboth.”
Eric Taylor, girls soccer coach at Rehoboth, said West was the team’s leading scorer the past season. The Lady Lynx finished last year with a 6-16, 3-9 record, but West was usually everywhere on the field doing what it took to win games, Taylor said. West played midfielder, but played other positions very well when called upon to do so.
Taylor also coached at 3A foe East Mountain in Albuquerque, and ended up coaching a few games against West.
“Just an all-around great player,” Taylor said, noting that West was team captain of the soccer team at Rehoboth. “She is very smart and is very coachable. I think she will do very well at OVU.”
Taylor, who coached soccer at Ohio Valley University for four years, said Coffeyville Community College and Hesston College, both located in the state of Kansas, and the University of the Southwest in Hobbs, were also interested in West.
“She’s going to a school where I coached, so I was able to provide a lot of information about the school when talking to her,” Taylor said. “A lot of the coaches at OVU know me, so that’s always a plus when it comes to recruiting.”
Established in 1960, Ohio Valley University is a private four-year Christian College located in Vienna, West Virginia. A Division II school, the Fighting Scots play in the Great Midwest Athletic Conference.
By Bernie Dotson
Sun Correspondent
