A Positive Introduction to the Team
Leighton opened her summer house to soccer's three freshmen
Mike Brohard
Of course she volunteered.
She was the perfect person to house all three incoming freshmen on the soccer team, because no matter how daunting a task it was, or how frustrating it could become at times, Kenady Leighton was going to make it a positive experience for all of them
Of course she would, because who else finds joy in the depression of being quarantined – almost 40 days in all her freshman year – making friends with the voice on the other end of the phone when she needed supplies and leaving a handwritten note, thanking the lady who cleaned her room daily?
It was natural because she’s the teammate who encourages. She can be demanding, but never in a bossy tone, and she’s quick with an uplifting hug.
Quite simply, Leighton is the ray of sunshine we all need in our lives.
“I think so,” teammate and now roommate Kendra Gipson said. “She’s the ray of sunshine on our team, 1,000 percent.”
What head coach Keeley Hagen wanted was a welcoming introduction to the team for the trio of Mia Massey, Ishana Sandu and Jessica Shivers. They could have moved into the dorms, but where’s the fun in that? They end up being a bit isolated from their teammates, so living with one or a few of them would be better.
As fate would have it, Leighton had two empty rooms in her house for the summer and a genuine willingness to fill the role of den mother. It was perfect.
“Ultimately, it was being warm and welcoming. When you’re a freshman and you’re coming in new, it’s your first time living on your own, she was empathetic to that,” Hagen said. “She wasn’t getting frustrated. Maybe she was inside, but what was communicated to me was she had to tell them how to do things because it was the first time they’ve had to do this, but I know for a fact she’s telling them in a positive way because she’s a positive kid.”
Massey and Shivers arrived first, and they shared a room when Sandu came to campus. There is a tinge of trepidation in moving away from home for the first time, but then doing so with complete strangers can add a bit of angst.
Leighton was quick to defuse any and all of it. And she was there to help out in any way she could.
Coming from Canada, Sandu had a handful of additional changes to handle, and Leighton was with her every step of the way. She went with Sandu to the bank to set up an account. She went with her to the phone store to set up a data plan in the States.
“It was weird, because you’re texting someone like you know them, but you don’t really know her,” Sandu said. “She made it seamless. She was super helpful. Not only did she take me to the field to know where everything was, but she teaches you how to time manage. This is the time you need to wake up for practice, this is how much time you should give yourself to eat. It’s things you won’t think about, but now that I’m in the dorms, I know what I’m doing. The other girls, they got that from her. She has her schedule and routine down, which is nice.”
Leighton, as it seems, is always nice. She has also tended to be a positive person, but the Covid pandemic only strengthened her resolve in the pursuit and stressed to her the importance of a bright outlook.
She was part of the class in limbo. They were the high school graduates without a graduation, or a prom. Those were things everybody looks forward to but can’t be retrieved once their lost. Just like her final season in track. A standout on the pitch, she had been running track since the time she could walk, growing up Eugene, Ore., Track Town USA. As much as anything, she was hyped about being the favorites in the 4x100 relay at state, a race which never took place.
When she started college, there were no in-person orientations. She was meeting other freshmen in the dorms, but not really getting to know anybody because of masks and restrictions on room visitors. Her first classes in college were like how her high school classes ended – online. On top of that, her initial soccer season was at first feared lost, but eventually just delayed.
The junior said it wasn’t until the end of last season when it all hit her.
“Just the year in general last year. That was my first full real year,” she said. “Some things were still a little wonky, but I had in-person classes and I had a normal season. I had a spring training season, so I think after this year … I was kind of mourning those things. I didn’t get prom; I didn’t get graduation. I really didn’t get closure from high school. It was still like an open book. I didn’t get closure like a normal student.”
Who she is on the field is impactful, but who she is off the field as well with her positivity is equally impactful.Kendra Gipson
This summer, she put her all into making sure her new teammates had the opening they deserved. They all had plenty of quality time with each other, but they all also had their own friends and went off on their own sometimes.
It takes a village, so Leighton made sure they knew all of their teammates. There were team dinners at the house, they explored the city by going to Old Town and to the Food Truck Rally in City Park on Tuesdays. She showed them Horsetooth and went paddleboarding and swimming.
“I was like, why not? It was a great opportunity and I just kind of wanted to be a leader, take these girls in and take them under my wing,” Leighton said. “It was a great experience. It was definitely a big learning experience for them. I personally wouldn’t know how to live in a house; I’m still figuring it out living on my own. I think it was great for all of us on both sides. I taught them all a lot of things about living in a house, which they will do eventually or even just living in the dorms. Just living on your own in general is a huge adjustment. There’s a lot of things you need to learn living on your own.”
With others, too. Leighton’s house, Leighton’s rules. Their rooms, they could keep them how they wished. The common areas, well, common courtesy. Dishes don’t get left in the sink, they go in the dishwasher. Your clothes belong in your room, not in the living area.
She taught. She didn’t scold. No one was grounded.
“I’ve never seen her mad. We pissed her off a couple of times, and she’s never yelled at us,” Sandu said. “We left some plates on the counter and she never yelled at us. She’s the most positive person I’ve ever met, even on the field. She’s super talkative and she always uplifts people on the field.”
Off it too. The pandemic was in full swing when she arrived, and the original protocols left nothing to chance. Leighton’s roommate contracted Covid, so she went to isolation for 12 days. Then a suitemate had Covid, so 12 more days. Then she actually got it herself, adding another seven days, then seven more days for good measure when the entire soccer team was isolated.
It was horrible, but she managed. And made friends. She lost track of time, being in a room all by herself, ran out of something and called the helpline. She immediately read irritation from the other end, then realized it was 10 p.m. But she would keep calling, keep being cheery and they started to bond, especially given the amount of packages she received. The first was a rice cooker from her mother. The rest, the result of a bored young lady armed with an Amazon gift card, resulting in some serious clothes shopping.
And when her first stint was done, she left the personally-penned note for the lady who cleaned her room, thanking her for “risking her life” to help out the students. Of course, student housing contacted her for an interview about how she handled it all with such a sunny disposition.
Why, naturally, of course.
“I always try to be very positive. I have a very positive attitude,” Leighton said. “I’m very much the nice person. I’m not going to be mean or negative on the field. I never will say anything negative on the field, and if I’m talking to you, my tone will not be degrading in any way. I’m the one who is going to be uplifting. That’s just my personality – positive, very uplifting, upbeat, happy.”
She grew up playing center back, so by rule, she had to grow into becoming a strong communicator. It would feel odd at times directing orders to those older than her in high school and club, but by the time she reached Colorado State, she no longer worried about the optics. She just did her job.
The payoff of her freshman season being switched was that it gave her an opening. With the season moved to the spring, All-Mountain West defender Addie Wright opted out. Seeing the opportunity, Leighton worked hard to seize it, starting that season. When the coaching change was made, she worked hard to prove herself again. The result has been Leighton has been a mainstay in the lineup, with a slight adjustment.
Down a player in practice last year, they moved Leighton to center mid. Assistant coach Sharis LaChappelle told Hagen Leighton was really good there, so she remained.
Again, her communication skills were called upon, and though she’s not demanding, her words carry weight. They need to for a team heading into Hagen’s second season, a roster coming off a 6-8-1 campaign and the program’s second trip to the Mountain West tournament, but without its top two scorers from 2021 who accounted for 13 of the team’s 19 goals.
“I think her teammates know she’s genuine. I think anytime you have anybody who is genuine and authentic of who they are – she’s not trying to be somebody she’s not – the team listens to her because she’s earned the role,” Hagen said. “Anytime you’re performing on the field, that’s naturally going to boost you up from a leadership standpoint. But off the field, she is who she says she is – kind, carrying, genuine. She naturally pulls people to her because they know she cares. You get that sense from her right away because of her authenticity.”
The switch was a jolt at first, but Leighton loves the change. She can be a bit more of a playmaker, and she drew encouragement from playing well there the first time she started. Each game after, she continued to learn the nuances of the spot, a task which she carried through with in the spring and offseason.
The communication piece was the main carryover, and Gipson said it can’t be undersold how valuable it is the way Leighton takes charge, starting with Thursday at Utah Tech, the start of a season-opening, three-match road swing in seven days with stops at Utah and South Dakota.
“That’s crucial to team culture. These seasons are long, and I think what we do is hard and so not every day looks good, not every day feels good,” she said. “When you have a player who you know you can count on to lift the team up and lift you up personally, it is crucial to our team dynamic and our team success. I think if we didn’t have somebody like Kenady to do that, then the team would be in a very different place. Who she is on the field is impactful, but who she is off the field as well with her positivity is equally impactful.”
Honestly, it’s hard to tell who had more fun this summer, Leighton or her freshmen. Hagen calls her a mother hen, and Leighton gladly accepted the tag. She helped them understand hydration, nutrition and even the importance of rest. She made sure they all got to know their teammates, as they were constantly at the house, or they were out and about with them.
When official practices started, none of them were intimidated to share the field with the upperclassmen, because they had already created a bond. Which is exactly what Hagen hoped would happen. And when they walk around campus, they see familiar faces who don’t share the same locker room.
“Not even just our own team. I met the volleyball girls and basketball girls,” Sandu said. “She’s so friendly with everyone. We would always have people at our house. There are a lot of transfers on our team, too, and she always invited them over to get to know us. These girls have never been to Fort Collins and they’re in our house, and it was so normal to her.”
Fun is fun, but now it’s done. Hagen suggested strongly to Leighton to pass the baton, and she’s ready to retire from the position of team mom, despite the fact she viewed it as an honor.
“It meant a lot to me. I aspire to be that role, to be that person. It means a lot that she trusted me with them and to take care of them and show them the ropes,” Leighton said. “It really means a lot to me.
Next year that’s not my responsibility. I’m passing the torch. It’s all up in the air. It just worked out great this year.
“I have the class below me. Izzy Wildermuth, McKenna Lium, Lauren Wheeler, Shayna Ross, between all of them, I think that will be a good situation. My roommates I’m living with now, I might have one room open. If I do, I’ll take one. Just one this time.”
But that roommate, Gipson, may not be so quick to leave. In their house, which they now share with volleyball player Ruby Kayser, the rule is positive vibes only and the place is filled with inspirational sayings.
The house isn’t big, so Gipson isn’t exactly sure how Leighton pulled off the summer, noting she would be the one person who could. The truth is, it’s the type of house where people want to be, where they feel welcomed.
“I just moved in with her last week, and she says good morning every morning and good night and hello,” Gipson said. “She is just the sweetest, most interactive, positive person. I love that about her.”
Because everybody needs an uplifting somebody like Leighton in their life.