This is a printer-friendly version of an article from Zip06.com.
11/09/2016 11:00 PMSam Calamari has been playing soccer for many years, but it wasn’t until she joined a travel team that Sam discovered her love for the sport. This year, Sam jumped aboard the girls’ soccer program at Valley Regional as a freshman and had a big impact on the Warriors.
“In the beginning, it wasn’t really my thing and I didn’t like it that much, but my parents kept telling me to keep going. When I tried out for the travel team and made it, it turned out to be my favorite sport,” Sam says. “I loved the competition and meeting the girls from the other towns.”
Once Sam fell in love with soccer, she started to see more success on the field. Sam has always been a center midfielder and enjoys distributing the ball to set up scoring opportunities for and she and her teammates.
“When I was in 5th grade, I found my rhythm in the games, began to play well, and scored a lot,” says Sam. “It was a good feeling to score and know you were playing well.”
Sam used to play basketball and softball, but she enjoyed soccer so much that she joined a Premier team. Sam has been competing at that level ever since and trains with her squad during the high school offseason.
Lloyd Warren, who came to the Warriors as their new head coach this year, has worked with Sam throughout her time with the Valley Soccer Club. Warren has witnessed Sam’s growth as a player and is happy that he gets to coach her at the high school level.
“It was clear to me that Samantha had a bright future ahead of her,” says Warren. “Samantha made the decision to further her development with Sporting CT, which I was always very supportive of. Having the opportunity to work with Samantha again at Valley Regional has been great and I hope to help her reach new heights as she continues her soccer career.”
Sam was hoping to earn a spot on the varsity squad this year, but at the beginning of the season, Coach Warren told his athletes that all freshmen automatically begin on the JV roster. By the second game, however, Sam was called up to the varsity ranks and remained there for the rest of the year.
“Samantha has made a very positive impact on the team this year as a freshman and earned the respect of her peers on day one with her tenacious attitude and high level of play,” Coach Warren adds. “Samantha’s ability to maintain possession under intense pressure and her ability to find the through balls to release to our forwards has given the team another dimension in attack. She has also been able to come up with important goals during the season against Old Saybrook and, most notably, the game-winner in our [Shoreline Conference Tournament] quarterfinal game versus Morgan.”
As Valley entered the conference bracket, Sam’s teammates told her how the squad had lost to Morgan by a goal in last season’s tourney. With this year’s game tied 0-0, senior captain Malena Frazier sent in a “really good cross,” Sam took the shot, and buried it for the lone goal in Valley’s 1-0 victory.
“When I got the ball, I knew I needed to shoot and it went into the top-left corner,” says Sam. “It felt really, really good to score. I don’t usually score, but to score in that game in that situation was a really nice feeling.”
Unfortunately, with only minutes left in the game, Sam suffered a concussion and missed the subsequent semifinal contest against Old Lyme. Although the Warriors were the underdog, they stayed deadlocked with the defending champion for most of the game before allowing a goal in the final minute of a 1-0 defeat. Despite the loss, Sam was proud of her Warriors for how they played.
“It was pretty close and, with the way we played, it felt like a win,” says Sam. “It was tough watching from the sidelines, but our team played really well. Old Lyme was supposed to crush us by a lot and they didn’t. I think we played better than they did, but they got a good goal with lucky timing at the end.”
Valley’s season came to a close in the first round of the Class M State Tournament last week, but Sam feels pleased with how the campaign unfolded and is excited that she still has three more years left with the team.
“Through the rest of high school, I really want to win Shorelines at least once, but hopefully more than once, especially when I’m a senior,” says Sam, who adds that she’d like to play in college.
Sam has played with many of her teammates since her days in the Valley Soccer Club and at John Winthrop Middle School, where her team went undefeated when she was an 8th-grader. Sam has enjoyed getting to know Valley’s upperclass athletes, as well, this season.
“Everyone on the team, especially our captains, are there to support us, and everyone is so helpful and always there to encourage you no matter what,” says Sam. “When you know each other well, you start to play as a team more and that makes you play better in general.”
Sam also feels thankful for the support she’s received from Coach Warren, her parents, plus her brother and sister.
“Coach Warren has helped me through my entire career and he’s a big contributor to the player I am right now,” says Sam. “My family is very supportive, has carted me all over the place, and put in time and effort to make me a better player.”
Even when she isn’t playing soccer, Sam is still a fixture on the field. She’s been a volunteer with TOPSoccer for three years and enjoys helping others learn the sport she loves and that she enjoyed playing in her freshman year at Valley Regional.
“With TOPSoccer, it’s nice to see all the kids and how happy soccer makes them,” says Sam. “I’m really happy with this season. I wish I didn’t get a concussion, but I’m still happy to be moved up to varsity and get to play a lot. It’s nice to play at this level, meet the girls, and be part of a team.”