November 22, 2022

It is Friday night at Copley High School’s football stadium. Junior Kami Ayoup runs onto the turf to kick a field goal while the whole student section cheers, “Kami! Kami! Kami!” Students talk amongst each other, saying things like, “That would be so scary,” or “I could never.” Kami, however, steps up and blocks out the crowd noise to make the field goal.

So, how does she do it?

Kami letters in four varsity sports: soccer, basketball, track and football. With such a busy athletic schedule, many students were amazed when they found out that she was kicking for the football team. Kami’s father, Andy Ayoup, coaches the team as the defensive coordinator, and when Junior Michael Luecke got hurt, the team didn’t have a kicker.

“It started off as a joke,” Kami said. “Like, oh, haha, we might need Kami to kick, and then it turned out that we actually did need a kicker. So I went out for one of the practices and kicked a couple [field goals] and that was it.”

Just like that, Kami was dressing for her first football game and hearing a big, raucous crowd cheer her name in the stadium.

“I’ve been through so much pressure with my sports,” Kami said. “I just know how to stay calm in those situations. It was pretty easy, but it was nerve-racking.”

Kami may have been nervous on the inside, but it didn’t show on the outside. She went 25-26 in her first football season and helped her team win games.

At the same time, Kami was serving as the goalkeeper for the girls’ soccer team, which was ranked number one in the state, and sixth nationally.

“Being ranked in the nation is crazy,” Kami said. “Especially because we aren’t that big of a school anymore. Seeing our name on a ranking is one of the best feelings.”

Kami jokes about how sometimes she gets bored during a game when there is no action at the goal. She’ll sing, or think about what she is having for dinner.

Kami believes that her upcoming winter sport, basketball, should be as successful as soccer, and that the team should benefit from all their returning starters.

After basketball, Kami will go right into her spring sport, track, and field, where she will be the returning Suburban League Runner of the Year. Kami won Suburban League Runner of the Year for the 2022 season and describes that achievement as one of the best moments in her athletic career. Kami has been able to experience what most high school athletes have not: getting to regionals in all her sports.

Although many students naturally see Kami as one of Copley’s best athletes, she chooses not to lean on sports as the sole important element of her identity.

“It’s not going to be the first thing I tell [people],” Kami said.

There’s little doubt, however, that the experience has shaped her in important ways, including making her mentally tough.

“I know how to stay positive now,” Kami said. “I know how to be a good support and a good teammate. I’ve learned how to be coachable, so if someone tells me how to do something, I just say ‘okay.’”

Kami likens her participation on multiple sports teams to being a part of many different types of families that she can always trust.

“[I’m] thankful for everyone that has been so supportive,” Kami said.