April 22, 2021
By: Dwayne Page
Carly Vance, a senior and Class of 2021 Valedictorian at DCHS and a star Lady Tiger soccer player signed a letter of intent with Freed-Hardeman University on Thursday to play collegiate soccer for the Lady Lions next season after she graduates in May.
Joining Vance for the signing were members of her family, coaches, and fellow players.
“I am very excited. I have been looking forward to this opportunity for a long time. I have always wanted to play college soccer and I am very grateful for this opportunity. I can’t wait to see what God has in store for me at Freed-Hardeman and I can’t wait to grow as a player,” said Vance.
Last fall Vance drew the attention of Jason Elliott, the head soccer coach at Freed-Hardeman who asked his assistant coach Luke Janiec to come up and watch her play.
“The coach came up to me and said I need you to go watch this girl named Carly Vance at DeKalb County High School so I came up and watched the game and saw that she was an outstanding presence on the team. She was very determined and hard working throughout the entire game. She didn’t just do all the offensive things that bring glory she worked for the hard stuff like playing defense and helping out on the back line and as a mid fielder that is what you really look for. I was very impressed,” said Coach Janiec.
During her high school years, Carly anchored the Lady Tiger Soccer Team as a defensive midfielder.
“Carly is a special player and a special person,” said Coach Dylan Kleparek (Coach K). I started coaching her in the recreation league when she was just a little kid at maybe age six or seven and I have had the privilege of coaching her all the way through her career. Carly is a phenomenal player and kid. I always knew she would be something special as a person and player. She is an outstanding student and I can’t say enough about her leadership. Kids on the team try harder trying to please her. Carly is super humble and works hard. She is the kind of kid you want around your team all the time. On the field she dominates and uses her aggression and intelligence to affect the game. Carly knows what to do with the ball and knows where to play it. She is a fantastic player and will do really well at Freed-Hardeman and if she plays there with the intensity she played for me she will be a starter right away,” said Coach K.
While Carly competed in cross country during her middle school years, soccer has always been her first love when it came to sports.
“I started playing soccer when I was seven years old. I did do cross country when I was in middle school which helped me get into shape and I am really grateful for that time I spent with cross country but my main focus in life has been soccer,” she said.
Although she will miss her coach and fellow teammates, Vance will be forever grateful to them for their support and encouragement.
“I am going to miss my team and coach so much. They have had such an impact on my soccer career in high school and were supportive of me and my decision to play college soccer. I will miss playing games, bus rides, and going to camps with them but at the same time they are the ones who have helped me get to where I am today and they have helped to shape me into the player I am today. I am grateful that I am able to carry on in this journey with soccer,” said Vance.
Carly said she plans to major in Kinesiology, the scientific study of human body movement, and obtain a bachelors degree with a focus in exercise science in order to become a physical therapist.
Freed–Hardeman is a private university associated with the Churches of Christ and located in Henderson, Tennessee. It is primarily undergraduate and residential, enrolling full-time students of traditional college age. The university also serves some commuting, part-time, and adult students on-campus and through distance-learning programs. The university offers a limited number of master’s and doctoral level graduate programs including Bible, Business, Counseling and Education. Arts, science, and professional degrees are conferred.
Freed–Hardeman teams, nicknamed athletically as the Lions and Lady Lions, are part of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) Division I level. Until the fall 2020 semester, they primarily competed in the American Midwest Conference, but since have become part of the Mid-South Conference. Men’s sports include baseball, basketball, cross-country, golf, soccer, and tennis; while women’s sports include basketball, cheerleading, cross-country, golf, soccer, softball, tennis, and volleyball.