Academics, music, sports: Threadgill is a triple threat

Published 2:00 pm Monday, January 18, 2021

Grace Threadgill enjoyed the trifecta of academic excellence, aplomb on the soccer pitch and a band career that culminated in a season as drum major while at Northwest Whitfield High School.

“I’m going to miss the people, everyone pointing in the same direction,” Threadgill, a member of Northwest’s class of 2020, explained last year. “It’s going to be hard not to have that same connection around me.”

Music

Being the drum major as a senior “was probably the biggest moment of growth in my life, (because) it gave me more life, and I came out of my shell,” Threadgill said. “There is nowhere to hide up on that big medal podium.”

“I had always looked up to the drum majors, because they are the leaders of the band (who) encourage everyone else,” she said. “I love being a leader, someone others can look up to and depend on.”

Nathaniel Vanoy, director of Northwest’s marching band, said Threadgill will “definitely be missed.”

“Grace has an amazing work ethic,” he said. “She is a very kind, talented young lady, and is highly respected by her friends and teachers.”

Threadgill picked up clarinet in middle school, and she was her clarinet section leader as a sophomore and junior. She was a member of the concert band in addition to the marching band.

It was her parents who initially encouraged her to try music, but “I fell in love with it,” and as a clarinet player, “we have more of a chance to be technical and really put a flourish on a piece of music,” she said. “The upper woodwinds are the expression” in music performances.

Sports

Threadgill was a four-year varsity starter on a soccer team that won a region title her freshman year and made the Sweet 16 at state the following campaign.

One of her favorite memories of high school was the region-clinching victory over Southeast Whitfield High School in 2017, a game that required dramatic penalty kicks to be decided.

“It was one of the most exciting experiences I had at Northwest,” she said. “When we won, we all (got in a) dog pile, and it was crazy to win like that.”

As soon as Threadgill “came to us as a freshman for summer workouts, we saw that she had something special, (because she) was a leader on and off the field from day one,” said Amanda Moore, head coach of Northwest’s girls soccer team. “The older girls respected her and really liked her style of play. She was always positive with her teammates and offered constructive criticism to teammates even as an underclassman.”

A native of Charlotte, North Carolina, Threadgill’s family relocated to Ohio, and they moved to Georgia when she was in preschool. She jumped into soccer immediately and grew serious about the sport by the age of 8, joining club soccer teams in Chattanooga before her time as a Bruin.

“It’s been a long journey with soccer,” a sport that offers plenty of room for improvement not only individually but with teammates, because “you can’t do much without relying on your teammates,” she said. Soccer “helped me develop social skills, build trust in others, and (understand the value) of being part of something bigger than yourself.”

Threadgill “played outside back for us for three years and was an essential piece to our defense being as successful as it was,” Moore said. “She had a very high soccer IQ and we could talk to her about any situation on the field.”

In those discussions, “she would give her honest feedback to us,” and “she is a great person and teammate,” Moore said. Threadgill “is a great example of what Bruin Athletics is all about in terms of leadership and character.”

For the spring 2020 season, Threadgill volunteered to move off her longtime spot in order to step into the defensive midfield position to replace the departed Josselin Paz, “which was a big hole to fill,” Moore said. Threadgill “was a pivotal part of our undefeated — yet (COVID-19)-shortened — season.”

Last spring, “we were off to a great start, (including) knocking off a top-ranked team,” which made the abrupt end to the season due to the pandemic “really tough,” Threadgill said. “I’ll miss my teammates and the camaraderie, but we’re leaving a legacy” for future squads to try to match or exceed.

Academics

In the classroom, “I was always one of those smart, top-of-the-class kids, taking as many honors and AP (Advanced Placement) classes as I could possibly get my hands on,” she said. “I also dual enrolled through Dalton State College my junior and senior years.”

Her AP calculus class senior year “kept me on my toes — that was pretty hard” — as was AP chemistry junior year, despite Threadgill’s passion for the subject, she said. “I like chemistry a lot, but that was definitely a tough class.”

“A science student all the way,” Threadgill adored biology and chemistry, because “I like studying how nature and the world around me works,” she said. “There are so many things that come into play on the molecular side.”

“I really love learning and challenging myself, and I’m just a pretty competitive person, to be honest with you,” said Threadgill, who graduated Northwest with honors-with-distinction, meaning she took at least three AP or dual enrollment classes while maintaining a numerical average of at least 94.5. “I don’t like to fail, and I like success.”