Athlete of the Month: Joy Kassebaum

Posted 3/15/23

Liberty Christian senior Joy Kassebaum is set to lead the Lady Eagles on the soccer pitch this season. 

The senior defender was recently named as a team captain. Kassebaum is entering her …

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Athlete of the Month: Joy Kassebaum

Posted

Liberty Christian senior Joy Kassebaum is set to lead the Lady Eagles on the soccer pitch this season. 

The senior defender was recently named as a team captain. Kassebaum is entering her sixth season as a member of the Lady Eagle soccer squad. She has played defense since her eighth grade season. 

Liberty Christian opened the regular season last week. They hosted Christian Fellowship Tuesday in their home opener. 

Q: Is defense the position you’ve always wanted to play? 

Yes. I really like playing defense. 

Q: What was it like playing on the Liberty Christian soccer team as a seventh grader?

It was really scary. They had me at forward my seventh grade year. And then they switched me to defense my eighth grade year and I’ve played that since. And it was scary when I was a small seventh grader. 

Q: What is your focus when on the field? 

Well now, I’m a captain. Whenever we were picking captains, he (Coach Ken Dildine) told them that I was his top choice because I’ve helped the younger girls with drills and stuff. He just basically said I’m good with being a leader. He thinks I’m a good leader. I haven’t really been captain for that long so I don’t know. 

Q: Do you have to be more vocal as a team captain? 

Yes. Helping the younger girls learn soccer and just learn how to be a part of a team. 

Q: What has it been like playing for a new coach again this year? 

It’s definitely different. Each coach’s conditioning and how practices go, it’s all different. I really like Coach Dildine. I’ve liked the coaches in the past but he seems like he really knows and actually cares about the game. 

Q: What are your goals for the season? 

I hope that we win state but I don’t really know because we haven’t even played a game yet. I don’t really know what the season is even going to look like. 

Q: What are the strengths of the team this season? 

I think we all really know each other very well. I think whenever we get into a game, we’re going to be able to communicate well and everybody will know what they’re supposed to do and where they’re supposed to be. 

Q: Do you have any post-high school plans? 

I’m not exactly sure what I want to do. Right now, I think I want to get a Chemistry degree but I know for sure I’m going to do the A+ program. I know for sure I’m going to do A+ and do my gen eds. I don’t really know what degree I’m going for yet. 

Q: What do you like about attending Liberty Christian? 

Definitely that everybody knows each other and we’re like family. We’re really close. It’s nice that everybody kind of has somebody here. Not like anybody is off by themselves.


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