Long’s signing another first for Southeast girls soccer

Published 11:59 pm Tuesday, May 17, 2011

Lauren Long did the best thing possible to make sure she didn’t get left behind in Southeast Whitfield’s breakout season on the soccer field.

She had one of her own.

Long made her senior year one of extra dedication to both academics and athletics, a process that was capped Tuesday afternoon when she became the first Lady Raider to sign a college scholarship in coach Kevin Kettenring’s three years leading the team. Long will play for Emmanuel College, an NAIA school in Franklin Springs (about 30 miles northeast of Athens) that competes in the Southern States Athletic Conference as well as the National Christian College Athletic Association’s South Region.

“I’m hoping that it’s a start,” said Kettenring, who believes Long is the first Lady Raiders soccer player ever to sign with a college. “We have a program that is on the move and this is another indicator. … We want to see our girls be able to take it to the next level, and as a coach that’s my approach.”

A versatile player regularly used almost everywhere on the field except in goal or at forward, Kettenring said Long’s aggressiveness and physical play — including a radar for the ball in the air and a willingness to go up for headers — helped make her a force in midfield and on defense for the Lady Raiders, who set a program record for wins and made the state tournament for the first time this season.

Long said she took for granted the chance to start during her sophomore year, Kettenring’s first at Southeast, and didn’t push herself as hard as she should have that season or last year, when she also struggled to recover from torn ankle ligaments.

But she entered this season believing she had something to prove to herself, her teammates and her coaches.

“This year I just played to show them who I was,” she said. “I didn’t give up.”

In addition to her improvements on the field, Long said she worked to be better in the classroom, where she feared slacking off in the past would cost her as she realized too late what it would take to be ready for college. While she usually did well on exams, completing homework had sometimes been a problem, so more attention to finishing tasks made the difference, she said.

“Honestly this year I’ve become a way more mature person,” Long said. “I know what to do, I know how to handle things. I’m more calm. My personality is energetic, but I was way more focused.”

Added to her homework load was the online research — with help from her mom, Carrie — that went into finding out what schools might make a good fit for her college plans. She eventually narrowed her field to Emmanuel College, Reinhardt University and Atlanta Christian College, which has picked up several players from the Dalton area this season and sought after her, too.

But Long was drawn to Emmanuel by the aggressive playing style taught by coach Forrest Wimberly, who took over the program last spring. Long said her scholarship deal includes money for athletics in addition to other sources, like the G.I. Bill. Her father, Reubin, who serves in the Air Force, is currently in Afghanistan but was able to speak with his daughter through an online chat at her signing party Tuesday.

“I know (Wimberly) will help me become a better player,” Long said. “I know I’m going to have to kick butt, because their school’s very disciplined. But I feel like that will help me become more responsible with athletics and academics.”

Emmanuel is eyeing expansion in several regards, Wimberly said, including increasing its student body from its current number of 800 to the 1,500-2,000 range over the next few years. He also anticipates an eventual move to the NCAA Division II level for athletics, although he’s uncertain when that might happen. Athletic facilities are also undergoing improvements, he said.

And Wimberly is putting the finishing touches on his first full recruiting class, having been able to sign only a handful of players to finish out a small roster last year. He had just 16 players for the 2010 fall season, but still managed a 7-9-2 record and a 3-3 mark in conference play for a program that had won just six conference games in the previous eight years.

This spring, he’s already reached double figures on his signing numbers.

“We’re going to have 28 players and we’re bringing players in from all over the state of Georgia, as well as two Australians,” Wimberly said. “We’ve really expanded our recruiting base and went out and found some talented players. That’s kind of where Lauren comes in.

“The first 10 or so players I had out of the class coming in were specialized players … the last couple of signings and especially Lauren, she’s such a versatile player I can see her playing a variety of roles with our team. That’s going to help her early on. She’s definitely going to find her spot on the field.”

While Long didn’t always start this season — she said she felt more comfortable coming into games after having a chance to digest the other team’s approach from the sideline — Kettenring didn’t hesitate to use her plenty for a team that went 12-4 and finished third in Region 7-3A to make the Class 3A state tournament, where the Lady Raiders lost 3-0 in the opening round to eventual state runner-up Woodward Academy.

“She’s a great teammate,” Kettenring said. “That’s what I really found with Lauren.”