Kate Weber paused before she spoke. She didn’t want to come across as arrogant.
But the Valparaiso junior midfielder couldn’t hide the wide smile that spread across her face as she discussed the postseason accolades she piled up this fall.
“I’m pretty excited about it because it shows all of the hard work that goes into it,” she said. “You can look at all the stats or whatever, but there’s a lot that goes into that outside of practices. I’m grateful for my coaches who’ve put me out there for these awards. It’s just a happy feeling overall.”
Weber, the 2022 Post-Tribune Girls Soccer Player of the Year, was named Duneland Athletic Conference MVP, first-team all-district and first-team all-state, and she still has a season left with the Vikings.
In her third season on varsity, the 6-foot Weber led Valparaiso (10-5-3) with 14 goals and seven assists, improving upon the six goals and three assists she had as a sophomore.
Soccer is the only sport on Weber’s agenda these days, following brief forays into other sports like volleyball and basketball in her younger years because she has always towered over her classmates.
“In sports like basketball, you had to learn all of those plays,” she said. “But soccer is based more on instincts, and those always came pretty easy to me.”
By middle school, Weber was playing soccer year-round, joining club teams when she wasn’t playing for school teams. That extensive club experience helped her arrive in high school with the confidence that she could earn varsity time as a freshman — which she did.
“It provided me with a lot of opportunities,” Weber said of her club career. “That helped me have the experience of playing with — and against — very talented players.”
Weber plays for the Indianapolis-based Indiana Fire Academy, which is part of the Elite Clubs National League. Weber said it’s the highest level of soccer she can play right now outside of professional leagues, and it requires multiple weekly trips to Indianapolis and weekend ventures across the country for tournaments. Just two weeks ago, she spent a weekend playing in Arizona.
Sophomore midfielder Claire Brown plays in the same club — and travels in the same carpools — as Weber and said Weber’s pursuit of the highest levels of soccer available has been a common theme.
“For as long as I’ve known Kate, it’s 100% effort to get better,” Brown said. “Anything that she can do to get better, she’s been doing it.”
For Weber, that has included countless hours with various clubs and, recently, individual training sessions at the Sports Medicine Institute in Crown Point. Weber said her physical progression there has helped with her technical development on the field.
“I’m not slow, but I’m also not fast,” she said with a laugh. “So I’ve really worked on my speed and agility. I saw some improvements right away this season because I went pretty much every day in the summer and really grinded at it.”
Weber’s technical development combined with that physical development helped her become an all-around force on the field this past season. But Valparaiso coach Rob Cespedes said Weber also progressed as a teammate. She was one of the team’s captains.
“She found ways to work with the chemistry of the team and communicate with her teammates, both on and off the field,” Cespedes said. “And that was along with the additional technical and tactical things that she does.”
There are no signs that progression will be slowing down. College isn’t far off, and a potential career beyond that will remain on the table for Weber, who said her goal is “playing soccer at the highest level I can.”
But she also said she’s looking forward to her senior season because of the unique experience presented by high school sports.
“Growing up with all of these girls and then coming together to play for our high school and have a strong team is an awesome experience,” she said. “Our games at Viking Arena are so much fun because your classmates come out, the community comes out. … There’s that sense of community all around you.”
Dave Melton is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.
