A Winter Springs Player Making and Immediate Impact - Soccer Style

Winter Springs High School and Florida Kraze Krush alumnus, Amanda Murphy, is making an immediate impact with the #1 ranked NCAA Division II Women’s Soccer Program - Columbus State University (GA) - as a starting freshman.

Amanda has proved that being a freshman doesn’t mean waiting for your turn – hard work, skill and determination to play makes a difference and being able to immediately contribute on the field. Amanda is one of nine Winter Springs High School Class of 2016 recruits to sign Letters of Intent to NCAA schools. She joined the Cougars this season and through her hard work and leadership has distinguished herself earning her place in the starting line up. Jay Entlich, Head Coach Columbus State University:

"When we asked Amanda to play Center Back and lead our defense in a three-back, she seemed a little shy at first.   Now, here we are four games into our season and she has started every game at Center Back and provided us with stability and a willingness to compete in every game."

 

Class of 2016 National Letter of Intent Signing – Winter Springs High School High School: Three seasons at Winter Springs High School…Two-time All-Seminole Athletic Conference selection, including being the only junior on the First Team in 2015…Helped club team to a fourth-place finish in Florida state tournament. Photo: Winter Springs High School
Class of 2016 National Letter of Intent Signing – Winter Springs High School
High School: Three seasons at Winter Springs High School…Two-time All-Seminole Athletic Conference selection, including being the only junior on the First Team in 2015…Helped club team to a fourth-place finish in Florida state tournament.
Photo: Winter Springs High School

Central Florida, Seminole County in particular, is ripe with soccer talent and the results show with numerous Conference and State Championships attributed to schools like Lake Mary, Winter Springs, Hagerty and Oviedo. Much of this has to do with athletes playing year-round in clubs like Florida Kraze Krush where Amanda spent the last three years training and preparing for college-level play. It wasn’t easy, nor did she let off the gas once she signed with CSU, here’s Jay again -

“We knew we were getting a top-notch player when Amanda signed a National Letter of Intent to play here at CSU.   However, some players sign letters of intent and stop working hard and let their skill sets decline.   This did not happen with Amanda as she worked even more in the off season with Coach Menzies and his staff and came in way ahead of the curve."

Many of us know that college costs continue to increase every year. For many students, one of the means to help offset those costs is a sports scholarship at an NCAA school. However, the odds are long – of the 376,000 high-school aged kids playing soccer – less than 10%* will be able to play on NCAA team – let alone receive a scholarship of some form. The competition for a scholarship is fierce. Athletes playing in an established youth soccer club, staffed by professional coaches, increase their chances of skill development and exposure to NCAA recruiters to earn a scholarship. Over the last three years Florida Kraze has placed over 60 players into NCAA programs – most with some form of scholarship funding.

Amanda represents the best of circumstances when her academic excellence, athletic talent, leadership and maturity intersected as a college freshman – resulting in a scholarship and a starting position for the top ranked NCAA Division II school in the nation! Her club coach, Hue Menzies Executive Director of Florida Kraze Krush had this to say about Amanda –

“Amanda is a intelligent kid, hard working and really deserves the rewards of a starting position. She has continued to grow stronger and smarter on the field – she has a quiet confidence on the field that keeps the defensive line in shape. It was a real pleasure working with Jay to get her into CSU. Our club places 18-22 kids a year into NCAA programs all across the country and we are very pleased to see one of our own make a significant impact on a high quality program like CSU right out of the gate.”

Here’s what Amanda has to say about preparing for college with each program – Winter Springs High School, Florida Kraze Krush (FKK) and Florida Krush - WPSL:

“Being in all three of these environments helped me prepare for college tremendously in their own way. At Winter Springs, I was able to play with some of my best friends, which rejuvenated my love for soccer simply by playing for my school and each other. Playing for FKK and Krush - WPSL were both very competitive environments and every practice was a battle to show why you deserved to be on the team while allowing me to play with some of the best players in the country - building my confidence and showcasing my ability to play at the collegiate level.”

The entire Winter Springs community is proud of Amanda and wishes her continued success at Columbus State University and their march towards a Division II National Championship. You can follow the Amanda and the CSU Cougars at: Columbus State University Women’s Soccer

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