Bonneville senior a two-sport star heading to CSI to play soccer
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IDAHO FALLS — Alyssa Harris is a senior at Bonneville High School. She is a two-sport star recently honored by the school after scoring her 1,000th point for the varsity basketball team.
Despite her successes on the hardwood, Harris’ athletic field of preference is the pitch, where she was recently named the Soccer All-Area Player of the Year and 4A District 6 Player of the Year.
Harris told EastIdahoNews.com she has played both sports since she was five and enjoys both, but soccer is definitely her primary interest.
“I enjoy basketball; there’s just something about soccer,” she said.
Harris is among the top goal-scorers in the region, but she splits her time between the positions of attacking forward and center — where she was a good enough defender to receive interest from multiple colleges to play at that position.
Only one school offered her a scholarship to play forward, so she’ll attend the College of Southern Idaho in Twin Falls next year with her eyes on scoring. Along with the opportunity to play her preferred position, Harris said she liked the CSI coaches with whom she interacted during her recruitment.
As for plans to continue her soccer career beyond CSI, Harris said she doesn’t have a concrete plan. She will reassess her situation after her first year of collegiate sports — but either way, she plans on finishing her two years as a Golden Eagle.
“If I want to go bigger, I’ll keep playing. But I, kind of, just want to see how the first two years go,” she said.
While there, Harris will study business and graphic design. She wants to pair those skills with an esthetician license she plans to obtain down the road and open her own beauty salon.
As a self-described “homebody,” those plans would likely bring her back to Idaho Falls — but no further away than, perhaps, Logan or Provo, Utah.
When she leaves town and her team, Harris said she will miss the relationships she has formed with the girls she has played with for over a decade and the feel of Idaho Falls, the only hometown she has ever known.