Desiree Medina commits to Mount Marty University

John Adams Academy in Roseville has only had three athletes who have been recruited to continue their athletic careers at the college level. The latest is senior soccer midfielder Desiree Medina, who has committed to Mount Marty University in South Dakota. "I chose Mount Marty University because it had checked off everything on my list that I was looking for in a university," Medina said. "Religiously, I believe that it is also the best choice for me. I hope I am able to bring success and make a positive impact toward their program." Medina has been playing soccer since age six, getting into the sport not only because her entire family loves it but because her older brother, Axell, plays as well. "I have always looked up to him because the soccer player that he is is the soccer player that I aspire to be," Medina said. "He is truly so supportive of me and has taught me almost everything I know." She began the sport playing as a forward but slowly transitioned into a midfielder because she "has more control over the field" in that role. Medina played for Blues FC club soccer two years in the Rocklin and Roseville areas and three years for Galaxy. Galaxy is another club team that is part of Roseville Premier Soccer and was the Division III champions for the Stanford Summer Classic tournament in 2019 with Medina on the squad. "Club soccer helped me prepare for the high school season because right after Galaxy's season would end, my high school season would start, so it felt like I was already in the perfect condition to play," Medina said. "I took what I learned from my club seasons and applied it to my high school seasons, which ended up being very successful." Medina has played for John Adams Academy since her freshman season in 2019 when the Patriots made it to the second round of the Sac-Joaquin Section Division VII playoffs before losing to Forest Lake Christian. The team performed very well last year during her junior season only losing one game but no playoffs were held. "Coaching Des has been so fun, she brings a fun element to the field along with some great footwork," Patriots coach Molly Grant said. "My favorite memory is when I asked her to play goalie for half of the game so our goalie could play the field. She was a great sport about it and when anyone would get close to her with the ball, she would yell at her defensive teammates, 'save me.'" Medina began the recruiting process in November by finding out which schools had interest in her before sending out a number of emails. She also used Next College Student Athlete, which is a website that helps athletes get recruited as coaches view profiles and contact athletes. Medina also had interest from Corban University in Oregon but ultimately decided on Mount Marty University. She is the third athlete to be recruited from John Adams Academy. Nicole Zuevela was recruited and currently plays softball for Northwest Nazarene University and Armanii Tafoya is playing soccer for William Jessup University. "Honestly, I think that it is amazing to see another scholar athlete make it to the collegiate level," Tafoya said. "She is always uplifting others and adding levity to tense situations while always taking the game seriously. She is an amazing teammate and friend and I can't wait to see what she accomplishes on the college field." Medina has a short-term goal of getting as many assists as possible for her senior season and her long-term goal is to encourage others as a mentor. In her free time, she likes to play guitar, piano and video games with her favorites being Fortnite and FIFA 22. Medina has advice she wanted to give to other high school soccer athletes who want to play at the next level: "Start doing more and stop waiting for something to happen. You are the only person in control of how you will approach your goals. You can either wait for something to happen or go out and get it."