Kelsie Montroy with her commitment letter to Concordia.
BY SAMANTHA ELLIOTT
When she was little, Kelsie Montroy did it all. In the fall, Montroy feels like she will truly have it all when she starts her freshman year of college.
It took some time to make her decision, but Montroy, a 2020 Trenton High School graduate, said her choice gives her the ability to continue doing what she loves, in a place she loves, while studying her passion.
The Trojans varsity soccer star has signed with Concordia University in Ann Arbor to continue her soccer career while studying biology as a pre-med student with a focus to attend medical school to become an infectious disease specialist.
“I chose Concordia because it is located in Ann Arbor, a city that I absolutely adore,” she said. “I also chose Concordia because of the amazing coaches and teammates who were very welcoming to me when I came to practices. It felt like an automatic fit, knowing that I would be able to balance my studies and play the sport that I love in college.”
Montroy, who has been playing soccer since she was 6 years old and plays with the Downriver Rush Soccer Club outside of Trenton High School, participated in almost anything that she could when she was younger.
“I don’t currently play any other sports, but as a child I was involved in just about everything,” she said.
Outside of soccer, she participated in softball, gymnastics, dance and cheerleading through elementary school. In middle school and through her freshman year of high school, she played volleyball and basketball and ran track. Soccer friendships are traditionally strong and her soccer career started because of a friendship.
“I started playing soccer because of my childhood best friend, Kaitlyn,” Montroy said. “She convinced me to play even though at the time I was much more interested in dancing.”
Montroy quickly discovered that she was a pretty fast athlete and enjoyed the pace and aggressiveness of the game.
“As a child, I was a bit of a scrappy player, but as I have gotten older, the game has become more about mental ability than physical skill,” she said. “Now, I continue to play because of that mental challenge presented at the higher level of play and the feeling you get when a play is set up perfectly and creates the results you want.”
A perfect set up led to her favorite soccer memory with the Trojans. Last spring, Montroy and her team found themselves down to Riverview in the district round of the MHSAA state playoffs. A perfect pass changed the course of the game and Trenton went on to win over Riverview in a shootout.
“The ball was crossed to me and I just kept running into the net and it hit off my body and went in,” Montroy said. “The feeling of hugging my teammates after that goal was unforgettable.”
Off the soccer field, Montroy’s favorite memories are simply the Friday night football games with her friends.
“I would force my friends to go all out for the student section themes in the Trojan Pit,” she said. “The energy at the football games was always so positive and a great environment to be in.”
It is her time with her classmates that she will miss the most about Trenton and said that she is proud of the energy and effort given by the girls in her class.
“I think that we created an environment that was enjoyable and fun for the underclassmen, but also an environment of hard work and discipline,” she said. “I’m beyond proud of the reputation given to my class. We are known as ‘the workhorses’ because of our always-win mentality and I don’t think there’s anything that describes Trenton soccer better than that; a winning mentality.”
While her senior year was over before it could even begin, Montroy still knows the importance of leadership on a team and setting the tone for the dynamics of a season.
“I find that my class set a seasonal tone well together; not allowing the pressure to work hard make practices a toxic environment, but still having fun while working toward our goals,” she said. “As an individual, I found that in a game it is important to set a tempo for the team to play at and compete with. This is where I felt I was important to the leadership of our team because of the way I individually handled tempo during a game and knowing the importance of everyone being on the same page and encouraging them to have the same mindset.”
Montroy will take that leadership, as well as her superstitions, with her to Ann Arbor this fall; triple-knotting her cleats and tucking in the laces and, the higher the ponytail the better. While it took some time to come to her college decision, Montroy is thrilled with her choice.
“I had put off playing soccer in college for quite awhile because I will be studying biology and a pre-med and I had always thought that I wanted to attend a big university and focus mainly on my challenging major,” she said. “But, in a pretty last-minute decision that I made at my last indoor soccer game, I decided to reach out to Concordia and the team staff and campus just made it seem like a perfect school-soccer balance.”
While Montroy has narrowed down her workload to one sport, she encourages younger athletes to work hard and go after everything that they love.
“The ability to succeed in multiple talents is often overlooked,” she said. “Kids these days are playing one sport all year round and can be quickly burnt out or lose interest.
“My advice is to pursue multiple passions and remain balanced in your pursuit of the most important one.”