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10/18/2023 06:46 AMOn the field at defense, Natalie Brown serves as the heart of the transportation for the pieces of the East Haven girls’ soccer team on the pitch. Away from the field, she is the emotional beat of the bunch–always pumping positivity and keeping optimism flowing and circulating all throughout her squad.
The East Haven High School senior first jumped into athletics with the sport of dance at the young age of 7 before trying her efforts on the volleyball court during her tenure as a middle schooler. However, after waiting her time through her freshman and sophomore campaigns with the Yellowjackets girls’ soccer squad, Natalie has earned a leadership nod as a captain for East Haven this fall.
“I’ve always liked soccer because I felt I was good at it, and I like being on this team playing with girls that I grew up playing with,” says Natalie. “Being a captain has been really good so far for me. We are a younger team with many people that are either new to the sport of soccer, or they have been away from it for a while. It is a nice feeling to help direct others and lead those younger players and tell them what to do and where to be on the field. It has been going well so far, and being a captain has gotten me a lot closer with the team, especially the other seniors on and off the field with organizing pasta parties and other team events.”
While expressing great gratitude to her essential support systems within her soccer sojourn, Natalie has harnessed the power of that motivation to grasp great concepts within the sport to strengthen her skills.
“A big part of my success with soccer has been being consistent with practicing and just constantly trying to get better,” Natalie says. “Playing through the town’s youth program also helped me; it helped me build up my skills and my foundation within the sport. Additionally, my parents and coaches have been very supportive of me.”
While being a traffic controller throughout the frenetic moments of an opposing club’s offensive drives to the box, Natalie notes it can bring about some anxiety as being one of the last bastions of defense before the adversary gets to the goalkeeper, but it is that pressure that makes her thrive.
“I love that defense is one of the positions where you can see the whole field, and so you can help everyone by organizing them and telling them where they need to be on a play,” Natalie says. “It can also be tough, because you are right in front of the goal, so if you get beat on a play, it can be very dangerous for the keeper.”
In assuming the stewardship role as a captain, Natalie has noticed a vocal enhancement when it comes to her overall repertoire of traits as a team-based athlete. Individually, she has bolstered herself to become a swifter seeker of the ball.
“I have gotten a lot better physically. I have been working with my coaches in terms of knowing and understanding my position better, and I have gotten faster and a better kick on the ball,” says Natalie. “In my first couple of years, I was more quiet and reserved, but now as a captain, I am more outgoing and telling others what to do and where to be.”
Through all the ups and downs that have accompanied the Yellowjackets in this 2023 campaign, Natalie and the girls know to keep their heads not only up, but also on a swivel in anticipating any hurdle at hand, while having the confidence to overcome it.
“We just keep trying to stay positive, even through the losses we have had,” Natalie says. “Every game, we go into it thinking we can win if we just give it our all out there. We just stick to little motivational things like that, and we keep a very optimistic approach.”
As a four-year member of the varsity ranks, Natalie is someone who constantly puts the welfare of others before herself and never creates division amongst the grades on the squad, says Head Coach Jake Hackett.
“Natalie is both a good player and good person. She is both a leader on the field and in the classroom,” says Hackett. “Natalie has been a varsity player all four years and, in that time, she has done whatever the team needed of her. Natalie is the type of player every coach wishes they had a full squad of. She puts the team before everything else and is willing to do whatever is needed for the team to be successful. As a captain, she has shown great leadership and goes out of her way to help the younger players whenever needed. Natalie has a very high caliber of character and is a truly amazing person. It has been an honor to coach her over the past four years.”
That brimming positivity is bountiful within Natalie’s collective spirit, as she has additionally discovered the true benefits of functioning as one unit and never putting the unifying goal at the feet of one sole person.
“One big lesson I have learned is the benefits of teamwork. No one person will win or lose all the games. Everyone has to do their part while putting in their full efforts,” says Natalie. “I also learned you have to step up and be ready for your turn when it comes, which I learned while on the bench as a freshman and sophomore. Also, I discovered the benefits of a positive outlook on things and not letting things get to you and that you must only worry about the things you can control.”