ASHVILLE — A new league with a fresh set of opponents didn’t phase Teays Valley’s girls soccer team this season as the Vikings had a number of big accomplishments including seeing senior Brooklyn Herbert lay claim to the Ted Van Horn Award as Pickaway County’s top senior soccer player.
“It’s just a great honor anytime someone from our team gets recognition like this,” TV coach Jason Herbert said. “Our whole team did a great job this year and set some new program records, which is always great.
“A lot of things have to go right to have a great season and we’re just very proud of her for the hard work and everything she did to help the team this year.”
A 1-0 win at Dublin Scioto to start the season was just what the doctor ordered to propel Herbert and the Vikings to a great season.
“We hadn’t played a lot of these teams (on this year’s schedule). Our first game of the season was Dublin Scioto and we were all like, ‘Oh my gosh it’s a Dublin.’ But then we beat them. I think that really helped boost our conference,” Brooklyn said. “I also think being in the new league helped a lot of us get better and boost our confidence.”
A midfielder, Brooklyn recorded 15 goals and six assists as the team set a number of program records, including the best overall team record in school history as they finished 14-2-1.
“That was a really big deal, especially being in a new league. It was all new,” she said. “We did the best we’ve ever done and going to the district championship was a really big deal. The other team wasn’t expecting us to play really well, and we went to overtime. We played probably one of our best games this year.”
Brooklyn completed her high school soccer career with three All-Mid-State League honors and was named Ohio Capital Conference Player of the Year this season. She was named First Team All-Central District as well as All-Ohio and led the team in scoring during the regular season.
“We had one of the strongest rosters in the history of this program from top to bottom. I think the whole group did a good job of staying focused from day to day. I don’t know if it was because everything was new maybe, but they just stayed focused on one day at a time,” Jason said. “Brooklyn was, obviously, a big part of that. She is able to work hard and able to create a lot of chances on goal for us. She was able to score a decent amount of goals as a midfielder and create some opportunities for other people.”
Along with scoring and creating opportunities, Brooklyn’s senior leadership was important to the team’s success.
“She’s always had a little bit of a leadership mentality, but as the season went on, she matured a little bit and became a more well-rounded leader,” Jason said. “She understood more about getting other people to do what they needed to do in a positive way.”
“I got captain for the first time, so that was exciting,” Brooklyn said. “I focused on getting better from a leadership aspect, because I want to play sports in college, and you just need that aspect for life.”
Along with success on the field, Brooklyn and Jason successfully navigated the player/coach, father/daughter dynamic.
“It was interesting because we don’t act like father and daughter, but you can tell sometimes,” she said. “There are sometimes that I will backtalk a little bit or he’ll nudge me a little but harder than others – but I liked it.”
“It’s amazing to be able to share something you enjoy with your kids,” Jason said. “But it can be stressful and difficult.
“We’re very proud of what she’s been able to accomplish.”
Following high school, Brooklyn is planning to continue her athletic career. A state-placer in the high jump last season, she has seen interest from schools for soccer and track, but said she is leaning toward playing soccer at the next level and that she would like to pursue something in the medical field.
The award is named in honor of Ted Van Horn. Van Horn was a Vietnam veteran and spent two decades assisting with the high school soccer program at Circleville as well as countless years volunteering with the youth soccer program in Circleville. He passed away in 2012.
“For me, it’s always an honor to be associated with Ted Van Horn,” Jason said. “He was someone who volunteered his time, even when I was a little kid playing soccer, and then went on to volunteer 20 or 30 years of his life with soccer in this area.
“Anytime anyone gets something from our school related to Ted Van Horn, it’s a great honor, especially to me on a personal level.”
This is the second year for the Ted Van Horn Award with the first recipient being Teays Valley’s Faith Kanoski.
The winner of the Ted Van Horn Award and the Brad Morris All-Pickaway County soccer teams were selected by the Pickaway County high school soccer coaches.