Leah B. (Class of '09)

When I joined the South Florida HEAT soccer team, I was a fourteen year old homeschooler back in the United States after two years of living in the Caribbean. I was shy, reserved, and slightly terrified of the prospect of starting up sports again after a two year break. I never could have expected the amazing journey that lay ahead of me. My experience was so much more than sports – I learned the value of a community that loves you, the perseverance required to succeed as the underdog and as the favorite, the self-confidence to stand-up for what I believe in, and developed a relationship with God with the encouragement of those around me. The mentorship and leadership of Coach Bob Bemis inspired me to figure out just what my limits were athletically, spiritually, and as a leader and then push those limits to new heights each and every day. I graduated high school over three years ago, but the lessons I learned from the HEAT still affect me on a daily basis. The HEAT is a family that carries, pushes, demands, and prays for each athlete they invest in and changes each athlete’s life, in both dramatic and subtle ways.