GROTON – The sports may be different, but when Jerica Locke puts on a Groton uniform there is one thing that is always the same: all-out effort every single time.
The senior is a key member for the Tigers in soccer, volleyball, basketball, and track and field. She’s easy to spot in all of them, because she’s always in the middle of the action.
While Locke is a standout performer, she is quick to point out she couldn’t do anything without her teammates.
“You can’t win a game without your whole team. That’s 100 percent for sure,” Locke said. “Even when things aren’t going well, if you try to do it by yourself, and I’ve learned there are times when I have gotten frustrated, so I try to do it by myself, but it doesn’t ever work out. It’s definitely a team mindset and everyone has to be on the same page, no matter what sport it is.”
Locke is a captain in all of her sports. It’s a role she takes seriously.
“Having that captain band or that captain role is honoring,” Locke said. “I feel honored to be able to serve as our leader, just help the younger ones coming up.”
And like any good leader, Locke wants her teammates to know that she does not feel superior, she just wants what’s best for the Tigers.
“I’m a senior and I’m a captain, and I’m still making mistakes,” Locke said, “by no means am I perfect.”
What Locke provides is an example for others by her maximum effort, combining her physical toughness with a high IQ that brings out her best whether on the soccer pitch or on the hardwood.
“Definitely being undersized and on the shorter side, you have to be physical. You have to be scrappy,” Locke said. “In soccer, it’s a little different than basketball. In soccer, it’s a lot of about speed and your skill with the ball. Yeah, you might be really fast and be able to get to the ball, but if you can’t do anything with it once you have it, then you’re in kind of a pickle.”
Locke, who has competed in multiple varsity sports since seventh grade, has been involved in her share of memorable contests. She said each sport has its own unique special moments.
“All of them feel good. They are all kind of different,” Locke said. “How I think of it is, volleyball it’s hard to get the ball, soccer it’s hard to put it in the back of the net, basketball is a smaller hoop, so it’s even harder. Being the one making the big play or the big shot, whatever it is, it’s a very rewarding feeling and also an energy booster, a motivation booster for everyone on the team.”
While Locke has experienced plenty of high moments through athletics, there have also been numerous frustrations, like finishing runner-up in back-to-back state championship soccer games, and just missing out on qualifying for state tournaments in volleyball and basketball.
Falling just short in those situations has definitely motivated Locke and her Tiger teammates this season.
“It is very frustrating and it is a big talk of volleyball this season. It’s always like, we’re right there, we’re right there. We always make it to the Sweet 16 game,” Locke said. “And then last year we had a really good chance and just didn’t perform well. It is very frustrating, but it’s also motivating, especially this year. We’re like we want this. We’ve been working for this now for how long?”
Those feelings will also carry over to hoops this winter as well.
“Then in basketball, we’re all very, very motivated to get to that spot,” Locke said, “because girls’ basketball hasn’t been there in a while in Groton.”
First up, however, is a huge volleyball match this evening at Aberdeen Roncalli. The Tigers are undefeated while the Cavaliers have won four straight matches. Locke does not need to be reminded that the two rivals have hooked up in some epic battles throughout the years.
“A game played against Roncalli is never forgotten,” Locke said.
Interestingly enough, Locke said she still gets nervous before a competition regardless of the opponent or the sport.
“I think my experience and how long that I’ve played, helps me relax,” Locke said. “I pray, I take a deep breath, and I just get into game mode and the nerves kind of settle down once the first play is done.”
Locke is currently in the process of once again competing in two sports at the same time with soccer and volleyball. While she likes both sports equally, she is able to compartmentalize the priority at hand and focus her whole attention on that.
“It is a challenge. Whatever game day it is, that’s what I’m focused on,” Locke said. “I’m not really worried about the next volleyball game or the next soccer game. If it’s volleyball night, it’s volleyball night. That’s all that’s going through my head, or if it’s soccer day, it’s soccer day. Same with basketball.”
And no matter what night or day it is, you can bet that when Locke shows up, she will have the eye of the tiger and be ready to compete with all-out effort.
