Senior makes the ‘Best’ of most challenging of obstacles

After a devastating, season-ending ACL tear, Lauren Best fought hard to retain her skills on the court and soccer field. In many ways, her struggles to persevere have done as much as her sporting achievements to forge her character. 

Rebounding from such an injury has stretched Best to her limits, especially within her mindset.

“My biggest concern was gaining the strength and confidence back,” she said. “After you experience something like this in your athletics, it makes you terrified to go back to playing the sports you love.”

Having encountered many challenges throughout the course of high school, Best recognizes sports as having been essential to her well-being.

“It is nice to go and practice with everyone on my most stressful days to laugh and relieve any stress that school or other aspects of my life are causing me,” she said. “I have had some of the best teams growing up, including this year with both swim and basketball, and I can't wait for spring soccer.”

Because sports have always been essential to Best, she has tried to get involved in as many as possible. 

“Sports have always been a huge part of my life, starting with youth soccer when I was five years old,” she said.

Basketball Coach Marina Kodet acknowledges Best’s constant effort in supporting herself and the team. 

“Lauren is such a hard worker and always wants to get better, never doing anything halfway,” she said. “Anything Lauren does, she puts forth her full effort and her teammates really feed off of her energy.” 

While many different sports have seemed to be Best’s strong suit, one stands out for her in particular. 

“I have played a number of other sports throughout my years growing up including basketball, swim, tennis, track and field/running, and also volleyball,” she said. “But, soccer has by far left the biggest impact on my life as I continue my career into college.”

Through her experiences with sports, Best has tapped into her long-term dream of competing at the collegiate level as motivation.  

“If you truly want it, it doesn't come easy, you have to work for it continuously, and I stand with that going to play college soccer,” Best said. “After months of rehab and two seasons being taken away due to COVID and my injury, I can say I finally was able to achieve my goal of being able to play collegiate soccer.”

While overseeing the recovery process, Kodet noticed an evolution in Best’s competitive mentality. 

“Lauren was pretty devastated after the initial shock, but she immediately started setting goals,” Kodet said. “She attacked her recovery and put forth all of her effort, just like she does with everything in her life.” 

Kodet also attributes Best’s ardent dedication to the hope of performing at the top of her game.

“Lauren's recovery was pretty remarkable. Not only was she able to return physically to contact sports fairly quickly, but she has really trusted the process,” she said. “She even joined the swim team in hopes of a quicker recovery.”

Sophomore teammate Braelee Jodarski admires Best’s commitment to herself and the team despite the major injury. 

“She is one of our top scorers and always has a great performance on the court,” Jodarski said. “Just by looking at her performance from every game this year, you would not be able to tell she tore her ACL last year.” 

Beyond playing soccer, Best desires to help and support those with injuries just like her own. 

“I am attending UW-River Falls as I continue my soccer career into college,” Best said. “While playing there, I plan on majoring in biomed or exercise science and plan on going to graduate school for physical therapy.”

Sophomore basketball teammate Paige Seckar immediately appreciated Best’s character after Seckar joined the team. 

“ Lauren was always that one girl on the team I knew I could go to the minute I met her,” Seckar said. “Being a varsity player and new to the school in the same year was intimidating, but Lauren made that so much easier with her contagious positivity.”

Throughout all the highs and lows, Best praises her mom for guiding her to success.

“She truly is my biggest supporter,” she said. “She is there for me when I am at my lowest with sports and always knows how to pick me up and encourage me to keep moving forward, especially as I rehabbed my knee.”

As academics are also an important part in Best’s life, she attributes part of that success to the help of her mother. 

“Academically, she showed me going into middle school what study habits were and I was able to carry those with me into high school,” she said. “She is always there to help me and offers to help me study with flashcards or in any other way she can.”

Outside of the classroom, Best continues to dominate on the basketball court, leading the team in three pointers made by a longshot. Only halfway through the season, Best has already passed her 125 total points from last season. 

The senior guard’s deadeye shooting ability has led the Wildcats to retain a winning record in the toughest conference in the state. Beyond her performance, Seckar appreciates Best’s leadership ability. 

“Lauren is the leader everybody wishes they could be, exceeding all the requirements anybody looks for in a leader, being kind and positive with an infectious attitude,” she said. “Lauren is also the one on the team to step up in a close game or even pick everybody up in a practice when we are not doing too good.”

Jodarski agrees that Best’s leadership strongly shapes the success of the Wildcats.

“Her perseverance and unwillingness to give up is incredible, never taking a play off and always giving it her all,” she said. “She always faces challenges head-on, and she never backs down when things get hard, or when things aren't going her way.”

Seckar also acknowledges a solid rhythm on the court with Best. 

“Lauren is our spot-up shooter who can put them in during close games,” Seckar said. “She also has a great vision of the court and if you are open she won't hesitate to pass you the ball and you can expect a high-five or positive words after making a good play.”

Seckar realizes that this squad’s time together is drawing to a close.. 

“There are a lot of things I am going to miss about Lauren, but most specifically her ability to pick anybody up when they are down,” Seckar said. “This group of girls is special, and seeing the seniors go will be hard for us all.”

For some athletes, sports simply supply the catalyst to reveal true strength of character. Senior Roman Martell, a three sport athlete currently competing in his winter sport of wrestling, has become a true leader by example. Part of this is due to the work he put in during the offseason. 

“Athletically, I’ve taken huge steps from year to year,” Martell said. “Most of my growth comes from training in the offseason. I would go to camps, club practices, and I’d lift five or more times a week.”

Through the end of his junior year as well as the offseason, Martell has also learned what it means to lead.

“I became a better leader during my junior year because I realized that the underclassmen need someone to look up to and count on. I take into consideration that a few years ago, I was a clueless freshman and the upperclassmen helped me through my first year or two in high school,”he said.

The realization that he wouldn’t be where he is without the help of those before him awakened his own need to help the next generation. His fellow teammates also recognize the senior’s evolution.

“I think he has grown more as a wrestler and a person, and I think leadership just came with that,” senior Ben Buehring said. “I also think knowing that he’s wrestling with his little brother; he’s more like a role model figure.”

Fellow wrestlers have also noticed his growth.

“He’s become more of a leader by taking more command though leading warmups,” freshman Jaiden Fronczak said.

 Martell also sees this as an opportunity to help his team reach its goals. 

“Being a team captain has helped me learn to hold myself and my teammates accountable. One of our team goals this year is to make it to team state and all of our wrestlers need to hold 

By John Vanden Heuvel

Oshkosh West Index Volume 118 Issue 4

January 31st, 2022