Griffin McMaster: Kicking his way into Sophomore Year

Griffin McMaster is a sophomore at Aurora High School. To most, he may come off as a class clown, but to others, he plays a big part on the soccer team. After sitting for varsity during his freshman year, he officially became a starter this year. 

McMaster says that he stays active during the off-season to keep himself improving: “We have lifting and speed programs, so we get stronger and faster. I also play club soccer, which helps me with my skills during the off-season.” McMaster dedicates a lot of time to soccer. He explains that during soccer they do multiple drills including foot skills, shooting, defending, and anything that can keep the team working and improving during their time outside of a game or practice. 

When it comes to support, McMaster shares that his mom would be considered the person who pushed him to do his best: “She’s always pushing me, every day, to be better. She helps me stay focused and always reminds me that it’s not always about me, but it’s about my team, too.” He also says that one of his biggest inspirations is LeBron James because he quotes “Strive for greatness.” which is something that Griffin tries to do each day. 

McMaster has also recently won an All-Conference Honorable Mention award. When asked about it, he remained very humble and replied, “Getting that award felt good, but I know that I could’ve done better and I can push myself harder to get a better award.” Getting an All-Conference award would be a big deal to most, but Griffin seems to be satisfied with improving. He also includes that one of his future goals is to get a District First Team or an All-Conference First Team award. He looks forward to improving on and off the field this year. 

Griffin also talked about some of his soccer highlights from his sophomore year. He explains that the majority of his highlights are from before the games: “We talked with each other. It was really fun, especially during the playoffs when we’d have the overtime wins. It’s just the little moments that really define it.” He’s also very excited when it comes to the next soccer season. He exclaims that there’s going to be a good group of guys coming in: “We’re going to have a good group of guys– a lot of young players coming to play for the varsity level, and we’re looking forward to being back where we were in the district final and going further.” This brings McMaster a lot of joy because another one of his future goals is to win a State Title. 

Some advice that McMaster would like to share would be to keep going: “During my freshman year, I just wanted to quit. I felt like I was too hard on myself, but I kept going. I even got the opportunity to play varsity during my freshman year. Just keep going because you never know what can happen. You need to prove yourself.” McMaster remains humble when it comes to talking about his accomplishments through soccer, and he’s very excited for next season with the new additions to the team! 

Written By: Maddie Mink