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A freshman year full of opportunities

This article is the seventh installment of a summer series entitled Sports Rewind. This summer, The Manchester Times will take a look back at Coffee County Central High School’s 2022 Graduates that continued to play their sport at a collegiate level. Rewind the clock and take a look at the CCCHS Class of 2022’s Freshman Year in Collegiate Sports. This series will run from May 24 to August 16, 2023

Diana Ramirez signed to play soccer for Motlow on June 29, 2022. In the year that followed, Ramirez was a representation of the best of Motlow. She shares, “I appreciate many things about Motlow. It’s close to home, the campus is beautiful, the institution is always helpful to student and finds ways to assist, and I am grateful to represent Motlow on and off the field.”

She shares her thoughts on her performance this past season saying, “This past year was decent. Although we had an amazing season, I still struggled with many things but I want to do better as the following season comes up.”

Motlow Women’s Soccer finished their best season in program history this past year. The team won their second consecutive Tennessee Community College Athletic Association (TCCAA) regular season champion and their second straight National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Region VII Tournament.

Following those major wins, Motlow advanced to the NJCAA Southeast District Champion before moving to their second consecutive NJCAA National Tournament.

Ramirez tells her favorite memories at Motlow this year, “Definitely going to Nationals and Belize. Both were astonishing and we got to represent Motlow for going to the next level.”

In the spring, Motlow Women’s Soccer took a trip to Belize. The group did humanitarian work, got the chance to play soccer and toured various parts of Belize. Ramirez tells, “My trip to Belize was phenomenal. Although they didn’t have things that we had over here in the USA, it showed me that I should be grateful for the small things. While over there, we donated school supplies, soccer cleats and got to hang out with the kids from different schools!”

She continues, “No matter how hard life may have been for them, they were still so happy to go to school and enjoy one another. One of my favorite parts was going to the Mayan ruins and see all the historical sites. I made some amazing memories with friends that I will not see next season and that I will cherish forever. I want to thank my coaches for putting the trip together and showing us how stunning Belize is.”

While at Motlow State, Ramirez majors in General Studies, but she has bigger plans, “When I go to my next school, I want to do interior design and get an internship so that I can build experience.”

Ramirez tells, “I don’t know where I want to transfer yet, but I do want to continue school after Motlow. I want to continue playing as well.”