Durant High School soccer’s Rachel Horn was awarded a Positive Coaching Alliance (PCA) Triple-Impact Competitor $2,000 scholarship on February 9. She was one of 25 local high school athletes who were chosen by a panel.
“I felt very honored, and it was a moment where I felt everything I had worked for and done as a player, athlete and person came full circle,” said Horn. “I was proud of what I accomplished.”
According to the PCA website, a Triple-Impact Competitor makes positive contributions on three levels: personal mastery, leadership and honoring the game. Finalists were selected based on their applications, which included essay responses and recommendations noting how applicants strive to improve and develop themselves, their teammates and the sport itself.
“I love how, for PCA, it isn’t just about handing a check and not speaking again. The scholarship committee has been amazing in incorporating different activities and things to do with our mentors and fellow scholarship winners,” said Horn. “I went to a convention with the other winners where we go to play beach volleyball, play games and talk more with our mentors to prepare ourselves for what’s next in life.”
Horn had a very successful career for the Durant girls’ soccer program. She led the team to an 11-4-2 record in her senior season and was the team leader in goals (16) and overall points (39).
She made First Team All-Western Conference, was selected for the Pinellas vs. Hillsborough County senior all-star game and was selected to the all-state and all-state academic teams. Horn had 49 career goals for the Cougars, which, according to school records, is the second most in the school’s history.
“I never thought about scoring goals as ‘getting the record,’” said Horn. “I truly played for my team and myself and took the opportunity to score whenever I could. I knew my position and role as a player was mainly to be able to get the ball in the net, so I made sure I got my job done.”
Horn turned down opportunities to play at the next level for a couple of D-1 schools and some NAIAs to focus on academics at Florida State University. She plans to attend the university in the fall and major in accounting. She will miss playing soccer, but she is excited for what the future holds.
“Soccer has been such a huge part of my entire life, and it’s crazy to say it’s coming to an end, but I wouldn’t have wanted to change any of it,” she said.
