The Griffon News

Michelle Polk has been a pioneer in Western’s young women’s soccer program. She will be known forever as the woman who made the first goal in the history of Griffon soccer; and now, add being the first four year graduate of the soccer program to her legacy.

Women’s head soccer coach Jeff Hansen has been with the program since its second year and he reflects on what makes Polk such an asset to the team.

“What she’s good at is kind of the model character traits that this program needs right now,” Hansen said.

Fellow senior Lindsay Wiese, who has been with the program for two years, has witnessed Michelle mature.

“I think it’s awesome that she stuck through the program through all the ups and downs,” Wiese said. “She has the talent to have transferred to a school with an established team; but she fought through it. She has helped build the team to where it is today, and is a good role model for what the program has the potential to be in the future.”

As last season’s point leader and current co-captain of the young team, Polk has been an example of dedication and commitment to the program.

Polk epitomizes Missouri Western’s athletic department motto “Graduating Champions” by balancing her extracurricular activities with other responsibilities.

Coach Hansen joined the program in its second year, and according to Polk his addition to the team was a breath of fresh air.

“I’ve told the team if they’re feeling down on themselves or want to know the history of the program, she can tell some horror stories,” Hansen said. “She’s been through a lot.”

Polk is now leading the team she helped get off the ground, serving as this season’s co-captain with senior Wiese.

Polk describes the complementary nature of their relationship, noting that it’s their differences which contribute to their success, on and off the field.

“I’m kind of the good cop and she can be the bad cop; I play forward, she plays midfield,” Polk said.

Like a perfectly synchronized unit, her co-captain echoed the sentiment.

“Michelle is the ‘nicer’ captain between the two of us,” Wiese said, “I don’t deal with a lot of petty stuff or excuses and she is more of a pushover in that department. So if there is ever dirty work, she delegates it to me; and if there is clean work, I delegate it to her.”

For Polk the difference between being a player and a captain is primarily that the players on the team have higher expectations of their captains because they look up to them to provide leadership and positive examples. Polk easily identifies her weakness.

“I’m not big on practice, and I’ve always been more of a gamer,” Polk said.

Being a member of the soccer team has shaped Polk’s college experience as much as her participation has helped to shape the program. As an incoming freshman, Polk reflected on the advantage she had by being on the team.

In contrast to other freshmen, she was already armed with team support to fall back on. Having that sense of team community was a major part of what made Western feel like home.

“We’re more like a family, more so this year than in others,” Polk said. “Some of the girls I’m going to be friends with for the rest of my life.”

Polk is not a native midwesterner, originally hailing from Peoria, Arizona. She had always felt confident that a change of scenery was in order for her college years.

Missouri Western had not been her first choice after visiting and considering several other colleges, but Polk reconsidered her decision when former head women’s soccer coach Chip Wiggins asked her to visit the university that she would come to call home.

Coming to Missouri Western was not a decision that Polk took lightly when she committed to attending the university four years ago. Polk recalls how persuasive Wiggins was in recruiting her. However, despite Wiggins’ insistence, Polk still had reservations.

“Somebody told me that, next to getting married, that this was the most important decision I’d ever make, and it kind of is,” Polk said. “It decides who I’ll make friends with, where I’ll live, and probably still who I’ll marry.”

In the end what swayed Polk were the rolling hills of North West Missouri, the friendly campus atmosphere and an immediate bond with the girls on the team

“It was something I wasn’t used to and I was out of my element, but that’s what I’d always wanted,” Polk said, “Western seemed like a good fit.”

The closure of this season is a fitting end to Polk’s lustrous career.