With fall blowing into the city, all of the school’s winter sports are getting ready to spring into action and this includes Shadow Ridge. One sport in particular is a Mustang favorite, flag football. The student body and staff are squirming in their seats ready and waiting for the school’s flag team to trample the competition. One player in particular is Jaidyn Smith. Smith loves to play defense and is currently a senior here at this fine school.
Smith is a very talented and dedicated player to flag football who, like everyone else, risks physical altercations and exhaustion. Smith’s favorite part about flag football is playing defense. The team on average practices 2-3 times a week doing drills and getting physically capable to rock the field. Smith finds that balancing her grades on top of sports is easier compared to last year due to only having 2 classes a day. Playing for Shadow Ridge, in her opinion, is such a rewarding experience because of the competitive environment.
She states, “Flag football is very competitive but also rewarding! I love playing for our flag team.”
Smith appreciates all the support she gets from her peers, teammates, and coaches. She thinks that when it comes to something the team could work and improve on, it would be communication on the field. Smith’s favorite thing about Shadow Ridge is all the people she’s been able to meet throughout her years here. Her coaches have nothing but amazing things to say about her.
Coach Nighswonger says, “Jaidyn is a valuable member of the team. We expect big things from her as a senior this year. She excelled as a junior last year and will only get better as a senior.”
Couch Dubois expresses, “Jaidyn is a special kid. I’ve now had the chance to see and work with Jaidyn on and off the field for coming up on 4 years. She has drastically improved on the field but also the young adult she is shaping into is fun to watch. She is kind to everyone around her and is always looking to help all of her teammates and peers, let alone finding anything to help her coaches with. We’re excited to see what Jaidyn can do on the field this year but more so we’re excited to see what she’ll do with her life in the future and look forward to all the good that she’ll bring.”
This Mustang has some ambitious goals for the year like making the all-state team and touching up on her academics and improving athletically.
Smith says, “I definitely believe I need to start studying more when it comes to math. Sports wise, I need to start using the good criticism that’s given to me in the field.”
Smith’s all time favorite quote is something said by Coach Dubois, “Slow feet down eat!”
