Profiles: BHS basketball player finds second sport as starting keeper

Learning a new sport is never easy, but that’s exactly what Kaylee Wentz has done.

Before this season, Wentz had never played soccer before, but now finds herself as the starting goalkeeper on the Lady Bulldog soccer team.

“I think I’ve adjusted pretty well [to playing soccer],” Wentz said. “I’ve just shown up everyday and worked hard and that’s gotten me pretty far.”

Before playing soccer, Wentz specialized in basketball, and she is a member of the Bearden team. She and her teammates say that her experience on the basketball court has helped her convert to soccer.

“It would be difficult for a lot people, but because of her background with other sports, it has really helped her adapt to playing soccer,” junior midfielder Emily Mayfield said. “I think she’s a really good fit for what she’s doing now.”

Even with never being a soccer player before this season, Wentz’s play on the field has gone well, and improved significantly throughout the season.

Wentz, a junior, is still looking for her first clean sheet, but she allowed only one goal in games against West and Baylor.

Wentz has a chance for her first shutout Thursday night at 7 when the Lady Bulldogs host Notre Dame.

“I think she just really needs to get more experience, since she’s never played before,” senior forward Ashley Seltzer said. “And that will come with playing time.”

Wentz also said that she hopes to continue becoming more confident, and not hesitate while on the field.

“Once I let the game get inside my head, I over-analyze and lose confidence,” Wentz said. “I have to own my box and just love and play the game.”

The positives of playing a completely new sport have outweighed the negatives for Wentz and the Lady Bulldogs.

“She has never played, and now she’s starting varsity and saving us,” Seltzer said. “She has done really well, and she’ll continue to do well.”