After a modest, but solid turn coming off the bench for the boys varsity soccer team in 2010, 2011 season senior forward Trevor Carter decided he wanted his final year to be something special.
Carter had always worked out and played club soccer during the summers before his high school seasons, but heading into his final year and knowing he would be moved to the starting lineup, the 5’9, 170-pounder decided he wanted to be his best.
“I didn’t want to be a bum, sitting around not doing anything all summer,” Carter said. “So I worked out a lot. I did a lot of weight training to get (stronger). I definitely wanted to start off strong, and hopefully, we’ll start to see it pay off.”
Well, it sure seems like it has, as Carter, this week’s O’Fallon Patch Spotlight Athlete of the Week, has scored four goals in six games with two game-winners, which already surpasses his 2010 totals of three goals and only one game-winner in 26 games last year.
“Trevor’s not the most vocal guy,” West Head Coach Sean Baldwin said. “He’s kind of quiet. But he definitely leads by example. He just works and competes and his teammates feed off that.”
They certainly seemed to last weekend, when Carter led the Jags to a fifth-place finish in the prestigious Fast Lane Super Cup Tournament at.
The Jags were playing archrival Fort Zumwalt East, and just simply smoked ‘em.
And Carter led that charge, scoring a magnificent early goal despite being double-covered that sparked West to a 5-0 victory.
“I love scoring goals,” Carter said. “It feels great. It can be a tough thing, knowing when to (make your move). You just have to kind of feel it, and take your chances when you get them.”
Those sentiments also seem to typify Zumwalt West’s philosophy toward the whole season.
Already this year, the Jags have taken their shot against four ranked teams, including nationally-ranked, Large Schools No. 3 Chaminade and Small Schools No. 1 Priory.
“We like playing against the best,” Baldwin said. “We’re not afraid of a challenge. We knew it would be tough. But we look at it like, in order to be the best, you have to compete against the best.”
The coming week will be a particularly big one for the Jags, who are scheduled to play four games in five days this week, against even more of the area’s best.
On Monday, West hosted Small Schools No. 2 St. Dominic at Hoekel Stadium at 5:30 p.m.
Then on Tuesday, the Jags faced 4-1 Lafayette, a team just on the verge of landing a spot in the top 10 poll, before a much-needed day off on Wednesday.
But West will be right back at it on Thursday and Friday, with its lone road game of the week and GAC South league opener against rival Francis Howell North on Thursday, before closing out with another tough non-conference game at home against Hazelwood Central on Friday.
“The big part for us, is to not lose focus,” Carter said. “We just have to play it one game at a time, and work hard as a team to get our chances.”
Or perhaps the Jags should just keep passing it to Carter when he’s open.
His four goals in just six games proves he knows how to find the back of the net, and with nearly 20 more games left to go in his high school career, the sky sure seems like the limit for Zumwalt West scoring leader Trevor Carter, this week’s O’Fallon Patch Spotlight Athlete of the Week.
