WXXV Student Athlete of the Week: D’Iberville’s Cailin Guthrie

As just a Junior, one Lady Warrior made her mark on the pitch as she broke the school record for most goals scored during a season. With high expectations her senior year, she was faced with a serious injury this past spring, but she’s determined to make the comeback two times bigger than the setback. Introducing our WXXV Student-Athlete of the Week, Cailin Guthrie!

 “It’s my whole life… like I love my family, I love my friends, I love everyone in my life, but I’d say my love is soccer. I don’t know what I’d do without it,” Guthrie said.

D’Iberville soccer player Caitlin Guthrie lives and breaths the game of soccer if you can’t tell, and she’s felt this way for quite some time–14 years to be exact– and last season it was beyond evident that she’s had a ball at her feet since she was four years old when she set the school record for most goals scored in a single season. Guthrie says those 35 goals were possible because of her speed and the adrenaline it produces.

“I’m a fast player. I like to gloat about that and when I get the ball up top, my favorite thing is taking it up line and just scoring if I can,” said Guthrie. “The adrenaline really pumps you up when you’re up there at the top in the attacking third. It’s perfect.”

Not only does the adrenaline keep Guthrie wanting to come back for more, but a serious injury in the Spring made her appreciate her time on the field even more.
This past March, Guthrie tore her lateral meniscus after colliding with a goalie during her travel ball season. Guthrie said sitting out for a long period of time only made her crave the sport even more than she already did.

“Just the drive for it,” Guthrie said. “When I get injured and I have to be out, it absolutely kills me and there has been times when I get frustrated with the game and I think back to when I was injured and I remember how I felt and how much it means to me and how it pushes me in life and it drives me to do so many more things outside of soccer.”

Although Guthrie may not have understood at the moment why she was faced with this injury, the pain definitely wasn’t wasted. She now wants to become a physical therapist to help those through struggles similar to hers.

“I really want to be a physical therapist after I graduate and be around athletes and seeing the set-backs and all this will help me drive to become a physical therapist and have my own clinic and help other athletes or anyone else outside of sports that have set-backs and then playing in soccer and seeing that helps me motivate myself to really helping those people in life,” said Guthrie.

But those clinic doors won’t be opening for at least two more years as Guthrie has decided to take her soccer talents to the next level with Pearl River Community College.

“I just knew I’d fit in there,” Guthrie said. “What they focus on, team bonding, and they’re just really good about building everyone up positively and that’s what I want. I need organization when it comes to soccer and they’re a very organized program. I’ll be going up there in August of this year and pushing myself and playing through the season through the pain is ultimately what drives me to go play college ball.”

Guthrie and the rest of the Lady Warriors will host the Gautier Gators Friday night for their next match on the pitch.