Megan Joyner, a 17-year-old junior, plays soccer constantly. She’s on the OHS varsity team, the travelling Triangle United Soccer Association team, and possibly a college team in the future. She first started playing soccer when she was “five years old and my parents signed me up to do something active and fun… It’s a big part [of my life] because I just meet all my friends that way.”
Joyner does not know what college she wants to go to, although she is currently visiting colleges that interest her. “I really want to [play soccer in college],” she said, but she also said that she isn’t sure what God’s plan is for her yet.
Joyner said that her travel team practices three to four times a week from September to December and plays games on the weekends. During the school season, she has the weekends off but practices every day after school.
When asked what team she likes more, Joyner was unable to answer definitively. She said that her travel team is better in some ways “because you grow friendships” and she has known people on the team for many years, but the OHS team is better because it is “really relaxing… [You can] try more positions. There’s more school spirit.”
The soccer player who has inspired and influenced her the most is Rachel Buehler, a member of the US women’s soccer team. “[She’s at] the top of the top,” Joyner said. Buehler is important to Joyner because she, like Joyner, is a defender. Joyner called her “really down to earth” and a “really good person.” She “plays the style that I like to play,” Joyner elaborated.
Joyner’s brother, Hunter Joyner, is another influential person in her life. He “played all the way up to college and was a great influence and model for me,” she stated.
Joyner is a devoted Christian, and she believes that going to church with her friends and family is probably the biggest part of her life. She sometimes likes to go running and was on the indoor track team last year. She also enjoys sewing and making crafts.
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