Soccer is known as the most popular sport in the world. The excitement and drive soccer creates among fans and players is incomparable. West High Varsity Soccer player Cherrie Cox (12) has experienced this since a young age. Cox started playing soccer when she was three in preschool on the boys’ soccer team. Since then her passion for the sport has increased tremendously. “I like how unpredictable the game can be. Not knowing what the final score will be but only being in control of the current time,” Cox expressed. Currently, she plays forward and versatile top. Her determination has placed her as one of the top players on the team. But this passion does not stop outside of school. Currently, Cox plays for Beach Futbol Club as a midfielder and has committed to play for Long Beach State Women Soccer. “What I’m most excited about for Long Beach is creating memories with my new teammates and pushing each other to get better,” Cox pointed out. 

     Last year Cox got awarded “Most Valuable Player” by the All Pioneer League Awards voted by the coaches of all South Bay cities. Although Cox has accomplished awesome things, this has not stopped her from being kind and encouraging with her teammates. Soccer player Jordan Salmon (12) described her as “the most determined player” she knows. “She plays with [an] intensity that rubs off on everyone else and pushes the entire team to work harder,” Salmon added. 

   After two years of dealing with COVID-19 restrictions, Cox is ready to finally have a normal season. “It was very hard to play during COVID-19 … having no contact is just very unrealistic,” she stated. But as a new season kicks off, Cox is determined to make the most out of it and have fun with her teammates. This is her last season and she has set several goals for herself: break the high school goals record and go further in CIF with the team.

     Cox is a driven, responsible, and determined player. For these and many other reasons, her teammates look up to her. “The girls look up to her for her work ethic,” soccer player Lindsey Park (12) pointed out. She is also a role model for younger players. “She is really humble and I look up to her skills because she can dribble through about 15 people,”  freshman player Joelle Lewis (9) explained. Cox’s skills and kind personality have helped her accomplish all her goals.