Emma Laurion (Tara Templeton photo)
Laurion (right) during her Coupeville soccer days. (Blaine Laurion photo)
What could have been.
Subtract one family move and Coupeville High School might currently have one of the best soccer players in the state on its roster.
But the military gives and the military takes, and Emma Laurion was swept away, leaving The Rock in 2005, just as her life on the pitch was taking off.
Now, having grown up from a mighty mite to being a high school senior, she’s a star at Crosspoint Academy in Silverdale, the defending 2B state champs.
Laurion has merely scored 82 goals and handed out 62 assists in the first three seasons of her stellar high school career. So it’s little wonder she’s been a First-Team All-State player each of those seasons.
Oh, and did we mention she actually plays two sports in the same season? Yep, she’s an All-League volleyball player, as well.
And now, thanks to some work by the two school’s Athletic Directors, Laurion will get a chance to reunite with some of the girls she once played with during her youth soccer days, current Wolves such as Marisa Etzell and Julia Myers.
The original idea, broached by her dad, Blaine Laurion, was to have Crosspoint travel to Whidbey, but, when that didn’t pan out, the schools agreed to send the Wolves to Silverdale.
The non-conference game is slated for Saturday, Oct. 11.
While her soccer career has been stuffed to the brim with highlights, getting the chance to reunite with some of the girls from her earliest days on the pitch has Laurion thrilled.
“I am SO beyond excited to play those girls!!,” she said. “I’ve already messaged a couple of them, and I’m hoping we can all go out to dinner after the game or something.”
Laurion was six when she started playing in Coupeville’s coed rec league, and the sport claimed her heart from the start.
“I don’t remember what made me want to play, but I remember how much I loved it and how it brought many people from the community together!,” she said.
The three seasons she spent chasing a soccer ball around Cow Town remain cherished memories.
“I was young so I don’t remember too much,” Laurion said. “How much I loved spending time with my closest friends (Julia, Rosie, Riley, Marisa, Paige), walking downtown and getting ice cream, playing baseball in an all boys league, and going to a writer’s conference for “young authors”.
“The one event that stands out the most to me was racing my second grade teacher around the track and “beating” him and then proceeding to give my autograph to all my classmates,” she added. “Hilarious, I know, but that was the “cool” thing to do back at that age.”
Crosspoint started to allow its athletes to play multiple sports in the same season during her junior year and Laurion jumped at the chance to bring volleyball, which she had played in middle school, back into her life.
“I had a blast and both of my parents coached and played, so it is in my blood,” she said. “My dad coaches soccer and my mom coaches volleyball, so we make everything work and I couldn’t be happier with the decision to play.”
But, as much as she enjoys life on the court, her heart ultimately calls her back to the pitch.
“I have such a passion for soccer. I have played for as long as I can remember and I don’t think I will ever stop playing,” Laurion said. “Soccer is the world’s sport, I believe, and it just brings everyone together, that’s what inspires me the most to keep playing.
“I go on mission trips to Mazatlan every summer and play soccer with the kids,” she added. “Having a connection with them is amazing and only makes me want to continue playing.”
Known for having ferocious foot work (“My kick is literally my strength. I take all the free kicks”) and a strong work ethic (“I guess my competitive drive could be considered a strength in that I am constantly doing anything to win”), Laurion has big goals for her final season.
“My major goal is to decide where I want to play for college,” she said. “But, besides that, I plan to break 100 career goals and win as defending state champions for high school.
“In volleyball, I hope to make an all-league team again and get the team to the Yakima tournament,” Laurion added. “And I am really hoping to just glorify God in all of my athletics this year.”
That aspect of the game is vitally important to the booter, who combines year-round sports with strong academic work (she’s in the National Honor Society), while always looking to stay strong in her faith.
“I’m not like a usual teenager out on the weekends,” Laurion said. “Because I spend almost every night doing sports I set aside time to spend with my family, but I also love trying to get together with friends.
“My favorite day of the week is probably Wednesday because that’s the day I have youth group (Newlife Youth) and I get to see all the friends I have from other schools and just spend time worshiping God,” she added. “I like going out and just finding the beauty in nature and thanking God for the opportunity to witness it.”
Laurion is thankful every day for her support crew, whether they be family, friends, fans, or all of the above combined.
“My whole family and friend base has made me the person I am today,” she said. “The love and support my parents have given me throughout the years has been amazing. We went through a lot of tough times but they still came out of it with hearts for God and blessed my brother and I with amazing childhoods/teenage years.
“All of my grandparents, as well, have always been supportive coming to my games and I would say my grandma is probably the strongest person I know,” Laurion added. “My brother and I are best friends and I don’t think I could get through a lot of stuff without him.
“And finally, my friends. They’re my world. I literally do not know what I would do if I didn’t have them. We do everything together.”
Which makes it even sweeter that come Oct. 11, Laurion will get a chance to introduce her new friends to some old friends.
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