2020 Senior Spotlight: Morgan Messer

Louisburg Sports Zone will be running senior spotlights through April and May everyday (Monday through Friday) in an effort to honor seniors who had their seasons taken away due to the spread of COVID-19.

Morgan Messer didn’t make the move to Louisburg till the fifth grade, but little did she know, she was going to be a part of something special.

Messer and her parents, along with several other families in Louisburg, banded together to help raise money to start the girls soccer program at the high school. Many of those players and their families were a part of the 12-member senior class this spring season that helped the Wildcats to three straight state final appearances and two back-to-back state runner-up finishes.

Over the past seven years, Messer still remembers the time where it all began for her in Louisburg.

“This senior class is really special,” Messer said. “These are some of the girls that started up the program and made everything happen. I am truly grateful to have been one of those families that started it all. I moved here in the fifth grade and I was still playing soccer up in Overland Park. One evening my sister had a practice at Broadmoor, and as I was walking in with my mom and sister, I had some of my friends playing soccer against a brick wall. I asked if I could join them and so I did. I quit my club team up in the city and joined what was called the Miami County Legends.

“This senior class has been together for so long and we have played ever since we were little and I think it is amazing that none of us have ever stopped loving the game. We have stuck with each other through thick and thin.”

That has included dealing with a canceled spring season that was supposed to bring many more memories to a senior class that has helped the program reach new heights in just a short amount of time.

Louisburg was considered one of the favorites to reach the state final four once again and were poised to try for its first state championship.

“I was really looking forward to this season,” Messer said. “It is the season with so many lasts and it just amazes me still that we are not having it. I have been waiting for this year for so long and we had a really good team this year and the chemistry on the team, I think personally, was already outstanding. I really believed this year was the year we would go back to that state championship game and potentially beat Miege.”

It is the lack of closure that hurts Messer and the rest of the Wildcat team. Along with their lost season, the Louisburg seniors also lost the rest of their final year of high school and everything that goes along with it.

“I have been really upset, frustrated, and confused,” she said. “Senior year is like no other time of your life. You have your prank day, skip day, prom, graduation, last sports season, or even just hanging out in the halls. I never would have thought that any of this would get cancelled. I thought I would be going to FBLA state a week or so after getting back from spring break, but that got cancelled. I never would have thought Friday, March 13 was my last day with my full team and playing with them. I never would have thought March 12 was my last day in the hall or in the classroom with my teachers and classmates.

“I truly wish it did not have to end like this at all because this is some of the the worst pain anybody could go through in my opinion, especially if you have a spring sport and love that sport dearly. I wish it did not have to end so abruptly, but it does and we cannot change that. Yes, I have been quite upset and have many other emotions, but we have to find ourselves and come to a realization that our administration and staff members will do the best they can to make any of this up to us that we have lost and they are greatly appreciated during these times.”

**Senior Morgan Messer finished her Wildcat career with nine goals and five assists.**

Messer was a forward on the Wildcat team a year ago and was set to play the same position this season as she has played a vital role on the Louisburg team the last couple of years. In her career, Messer played in 53 games and finished up with nine goals and five assists.

“Morgan was always a happy go lucky kid,” Louisburg coach Kyle Conley said. “She is a young lady who played in a variety of positions for us. Last year, we finally decided she would play forward for us. She had to learn the position, but did just that. She always had an open mind about playing a new position.”

Soccer has played a big role in Messer’s life as she has competed in it since she was 5-years-old and is now preparing for a life of collegiate soccer at Highland Community College. The sport has given her things that are irreplaceable.

“Soccer has always been my sport since I was little,” Messer said. “I fell in love when I was younger and the love for it has grown and grown. I honestly do not even know how or why I fell in love with the game. I told my parents I wanted to try a bunch of different sports out and when I played soccer it just stuck with me until now, 13 years later. I would say it is a big part of my life and I obviously did not want to stop playing, because I am now going to be playing in college.”

Even as she prepares for life in college, Messer can’t help but look back at the all memories she had with the Wildcat program.

“Well I have a lot of great memories, but the LHS girls soccer team is truly one of the best environments that you probably could ever be placed in,” she said. “My favorite moment for me personally was when I was a freshman on the team and we were on the road headed towards a team in the KCMO area and Conley put me in. I was so nervous, but I received a through ball and I had dribbled all the way to the endline in line with the goal and I went to go shoot it and I scored. At that moment, I was so happy it was my first ever varsity goal.”

Other than soccer, Louisburg Sports Zone also had a chance to catch up with Morgan on how she has been coping with an early end to her senior year and some of her other interests. Here are her responses from the rest of our Q&A.

LSZ: What have you been missing the most during this time away from everyone?

MM: I have been missing soccer the most. I have been so hyped up about this season for so long and just getting that taken is heartbreaking.

LSZ: What is your most memorable moment as an athlete or in school, and why?

MM: Honestly, I cannot choose a favorite at all because the amount of stuff I have done as a student is so much and everything was just amazing.

LSZ: What is your favorite activity/hobby outside of sports and why?

MM: Probably FBLA. I have worked really close with Mrs. Lane this past year and being in FBLA is an amazing opportunity to have not only for the great people involved but for really preparing ourselves for what is yet to come in the future for us in the real world. It is an amazing thing to have to practice new things and even conquer some fears you may have had before such as public speaking or presenting.

LSZ: I know you are going to Highland next year, but how have you been trying to stay in shape for soccer during a time like this and how tough is it to be able to work on soccer skills during this time?

MM: So, it actually has not been too hard for me personally. I work out once a day, every day whether that be in my house or outside in my yard. It really is not as tough as I thought it would be to work on soccer skills during this time of quarantine.

LSZ: What accomplishments that don’t involve athletics are you most proud of and why?

MM: Some big accomplishments I have received are being a photo editor of the yearbook my junior year and the commander in chief this year. I also was the reporter for FBLA as well as the conference coordinator.

LSZ: What do you think would be something that a lot of people don’t know about you?

MM: That I was born in Indiana.