KYRA TAYLOR
SALLISAW HIGH SCHOOL
Sallisaw senior Kyra Taylor has been a part of the Black Diamond soccer program since it started four years ago, and she has seen alot happen in those years.
“The first year a lot of the girls didn’t know how to kick the ball, and we didn’t control it to where now we’ve finally gotten to where we can pass the ball around and make some moves.”
Coach Sinue Rodriguez added some thoughts to the evolution process.
“That first year we got mercy-ruled in probably 95 percent of our games then we cut that down to about 25 percent the second year and last year we didn’t get mercy-ruled at all and won some games.”
Kyra started playing soccer when she was about three with the influence of her mom and older brother Christian.
“Mom got me started and I just grew to love the game and being involved. I practiced with my brother, and he was an offensive player, so I became a defender.”
That skill translated to high school where she started out as a defender according to Rodriguez.
“She played defender the first couple of years but still managed to score for us by taking corner kicks and penalty and free kicks. Last year we moved her to midfield and some striker and this year we’ll probably play her up more because we have a better team behind her. She’s probably scored 25 goals or more in her career. She leads by example for the most part and is good at calming us down if things go wrong on the field.”
Moving up to striker this year does have its challenges according to Taylor.
“The running is probably the toughest challenge. I’m not the fastest player on the field so I have to make up for it with my skills and shooting,” said Kyra who is the National Honor Society, Business Professional of American, FCA, some FFA work and was a Girls State participant.
Kyra says the highlight of her career so far has been a game winning corner kick goal she bent in against Heavener last year.
Following graduation Kyra plans to attend OU to become a nurse practitioner.
