Sept. 26, 2008
Not many people enjoy staying off the grid, especially athletes these days. No matter what the sport, individual accomplishments sometimes overshadow the team as a whole. Courtney Whidden, though, is a rare exception as a member of the UCF women's soccer program.
The Knights' leading scorer in 2007, Whidden seemed to be in the right place at the right time as a sophomore. Her ability to read plays to perfection allowed her to finish with a Conference USA-best 13 goals while ranking second overall with 28 points. That served as a drastic difference from her freshman campaign in which she amassed just three goals and seven points.
Whidden admits that there was a lot to learn her first year with the Knights.
"Going from the high school and club level to the college game was so different," said Whidden. "The speed of play is much higher and everyone's bigger and stronger. It just took me awhile to go through that. But I think it takes all freshmen some time to go through a transition period where they aren't expecting it to be as difficult as it really is out there.
"So before my sophomore season I got a lot fitter and I made sure to understand the game more. You also have to get comfortable with your team as well. You need to know how to work with your teammates and that is something that develops over time. As a result we all had a great year last season."
And that's putting it modestly. Whidden helped lead UCF to a 15-4-4 record, a C-USA regular-season title and a spot in the NCAA Tournamen. Head coach Amanda Cromwell certainly admires her forward's style of play.
"She's just one of those athletes who has a nose for the goal and a striker that every team wants to have," said Cromwell. "She had a great shooting percentage last year even though she doesn't take the most shots on the team. Her positioning and instincts on where to be are fantastic. She probably had four or five goals inside the six. I think the only shot she had outside the 18 was the game-winner against Memphis, so she can score in many different ways. That's huge to have a player like that."
Amazingly, Whidden did not receive any postseason accolades for her dominance on the field. Just as surprising, she could care less.
"It's always nice to be honored with awards, but in a way, not being the headline on the team can be good because opponents don't take you for who you really are," said Whidden. "Anyway, those awards aren't something I need, so long as the team played well, that's what matters. I just want this team to win and I hope to be as big of a part of that as I can."
Hoping serves as a key term for Whidden. The summer of 2008 forced the Palm Harbor native to struggle through some adversity as she spent more time in the training room than on the soccer field.
"Having surgery on my hip and working my way back has been difficult," commented the graduate of Palm Harbor University High. "I was having a lot of back problems in the spring and we couldn't figure out what was wrong. Finally we learned it was a tear in my labrum. I was out for about two months and that's a long time to go without playing soccer, especially at this level. I was cleared to play a week before preseason started. Competing with my teammates who had been running and training all summer was tough, but I got through it alright."
For a student-athlete solely dedicated to the success of the women's soccer team and not racking up prestigious individual hardware, a small bump in the road should not affect Whidden's attitude and performance. Whether she likes it or not, it is safe to say she will not be off the grid for very long.