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05/02/2019 12:00 AMErin Martin has formed many friendships while playing with passion on the soccer pitch. Erin is using her fire to blaze a trail that’s been filled with accolades as a soccer player at Choate Rosemary Hall.
Erin is a Clinton resident who’s in her junior year at Choate, a college-preparatory boarding school in Wallingford. Last fall, Erin scored a team-best 12 goals to earn All-State and All-New England honors, while helping Choate post a record of 11-3-4 on its way to reaching the quarterfinals of the New England Prep School League Tournament. She recently committed to continue her soccer career at Division I Georgetown University in Washington, D.C.
“I’ve always used soccer as a way to escape from stress, so when it comes to practice or a game, it’s my favorite part of the day,” Erin says. “And with that mindset, I’ve gotten better at the sport and made friends through it. I don’t see soccer as a job. I see it as a hobby.”
Erin loves the flexibility that comes with playing on the attack. While she’s relied upon to score goals as a forward, Erin also has a knack for striking from a little further out on the field.
“My favorite part of being a forward is scoring goals. You can do whatever you want at forward, because you have the whole team behind you,” says Erin. “It can be tough at times when you are receiving the ball with your back towards it. Sometimes playing center midfielder can be better, because you have your defenders right behind you.”
Erin says that she gets tremendous support from her teammates. She appreciates how they consistently put her in prime position to find the back of the net.
“I love getting a through-ball from the midfielders and using my speed to get by the defense,” Erin says. “From there, I just get it down to one-on-one with the goalkeeper, and I try to find an open net.”
In addition to playing for Choate, Erin has also honed her skills by participating in an Olympic Development Program (ODP). The program provided Erin with a chance to work with next-level mentors, while traveling the country to gain additional experience and create even more relationships.
“ODP was great, because I got to play with players all over the state, and I was coached by college and regional coaches,” says Erin. “Through the camps there, I made the Region 1 team, and I got to travel to states like Arizona, and made friends through playing there.”
Choate girls’ soccer Head Coach Rick Koczak says that Erin always demands the attention of the opposition. With so many defenders focused on Erin, that opens up the lanes for other people to contribute.
“Erin is a dominating force in the New England Prep School League. She is by far one of the best soccer players in New England. We are very fortunate to have Erin,” Koczak says. “It’s nice to have other teams key in on Erin during our matches, because she is extremely talented, which has them focused on her the entire game. This creates more space for other players and leaves gaps on the field for us to get in. Erin is a complete game-changer.”
Erin hasn’t declared her major at Georgetown, but she has a good idea of what she’s going to study. While she still has one more year to go at Choate, Erin feels excited about what’s on the horizon with the Hoyas in 2020.
“I’m undecided on my major, but I am interested in psychology, so I might major or minor in that,” Erin says. “I’m really happy for myself, because Georgetown was my dream school. I’m really looking forward to playing at the Division I level.”