Athlete Spotlight: Third Year Soccer Goalie Alexis Backus

By: Mario Pimental

Staff Writer

Published November 14, 2018

Alexis “Lucky” Backus is a 20-year-old, third year student at Green River College, who is also part of the woman’s soccer team.

“I’ve played soccer for almost my whole life, in total I have played for 15 years,” Said Backus. “Eight of those I’ve played goalie.”

It takes a great deal of commitment to invest yourself into a sport, let alone play it for your whole life. There must be passion for a sport and if you have ever gone to any sports game, you feel it in the atmosphere. “I really like the team this year, we had four people that already knew each other and that helped bring everyone together.” said Backus.

“Our best game had to be the Centralia game, it was the second game of the league,” said Backus. “Not only was it a shutout, it was a game that everyone played as a team.” The teams ability to bond during a game, really helps them. Especially when that team has many new players who come from different back rounds. Not only will they become better friends from this game but they will also grow and become better as a team.

Backus, despite playing the most stressful role in soccer. She seems to always be calm and the reason for this is that she has trust in her team.

Being supported in anything you do will make you want to do it more, in Backus’s case her support is her family. “My mom is my biggest fan, she is at every single one of my games, she’s always cheering,” said Backus. “At the beginning of each games she screams ‘nobody’, which basically means nobody is going to get in my head, or make a goal on me.”

It is reassuring knowing that your family is always there supporting you, and we might pretend to be embarrassed when our parents are cheering so loud that we can hear them from the other side of the field. We hide the fact that we are so glad they are there supporting us, despite what is happening or what is going to happen they will always be there.

Backus is still a student and she does have plans to further enhance her education, right now she is about to finish her AA. After she plans to go to the University of Washington Tacoma. Assuming she will play for their team. Just like she has at Green River.

“This wasn’t the season we were hoping for, but it is a rebuilding process. This year we won four games, lost nine and tied three.” said Backus. The team deemed this year as a work in progress.

Despite not having the best season, you could say that the attitude of Backus and the team is something remarkable. Many people do not take losing well but the team sees their losses as a learning experience.

“Last year we only won one game, so this year was all about building a new team, “said Backus. “We want a team that can capitalize on last year.” Only winning one game can really impact a team possibly tearing it apart. The fact that they managed to pick themselves back up is amazing and shows that they can get through anything as a team.

Alexis Backus is the teammate that you want on you team. Not only is she a hard worker in anything she does. Her team cooperation is out of this world, from welcoming new teammates, to just being a great teammate on the field and off the field.