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11/08/2023 11:29 AMThroughout pretty much a majority of her life, Molly Marottolo has been fleet of foot in multiple athletic avenues, which has helped open up the door to being not only a well-rounded athlete, but additionally a strong leader on the pitch and dance floor.
The North Haven girls’ soccer team senior captain and outside midfielder started both competitive dance and soccer, and still participates in each every fall season. This 2023 campaign on the turf, she helped lead the Nighthawks to a Class L State Tournament berth following a 6-7-3 regular season.
“Soccer and dance help each other. I am always running up the field as an outside mid, which helps with my stamina. There is also a lot of moving around with my three-minute routines in dancing. Plus being in the leadership role as a captain with soccer helps me in group dances,” says Molly. “Determination has been a big key for me. If we are losing, or I am stressed about school, soccer, or dance, I am always determined to just do my best. Having that perseverance and motivation helps me and reflects on the team. The captains try to help everyone with uplifting the mood of the team, and it reflects on our play.”
Projecting loudly and proudly on the pitch with her teammates has helped unearth a new level of confidence for Molly with her personal abilities.
“Using my voice in a strong and positive way and being a good communicator has improved over the years and has helped me,” says Molly. “It has helped me become more confident, which is a big part of it all. You have to talk a lot on the field, so those communication skills are beneficial to me. I have gotten more confident, which has helped me become a better player as well.”
A midfielder serves as a two-way player quite often on the soccer field, and while Molly says that can be a daunting task physically, she loves the grind in addition to keeping the lines of language open and honest with her colleagues in the backfield.
“It can be tough getting back on defense and sprinting back, especially after we are up at the high end of the field on offense,” Molly says. “I also let the outside backs know there is a man coming on offense. It is a lot of running, but communicating with the defense is really helpful. Yet running up on offense is a little easier if we are passing the ball up instead of just sprinting.”
While Molly and her fellow captain cohorts are about getting the girls up for each and every contest and practice, they also have a more paramount objective to foster a warm and comforting atmosphere where concerns and questions can be raised openly and honestly.
“I like being the captain, and all of the captains work together to make sure the other girls have a good experience and a place where they can always ask for help,” says Molly. “It seems the girls feel very comfortable talking to the captains. We also want us to be close off the field, because it helps us on the field, and I have seen the development of that through our passing and talking.”
North Haven Head Coach Gary Collins explains that Molly always makes the most of each opportunity with a minimum of giving at least her maximum effort to the game and her team daily.
“Molly is a senior captain who played four years at the varsity level,” says Collins. “She displays good leadership on and off the field, works well with her teammates, and she is always encouraging and supporting them. She always wants to do her best and give everything to the team, and it shows by her work ethic. She has been a joy to coach the last four years.”
One of the pivotal moments in the Nighthawks’ eventual push to the playoffs actually came through defeat, revealing the true character of the team. They used it as a focal point to demonstrate how they could hold their own no matter the matchup on the slate.
“When we played Mercy, we lost 2-0 but it gave us confidence, because it was a hard-fought game by us,” Molly says. “It was a really good game, and we were all proud of each other. It became an uplifting environment from there, because we knew we could handle ourselves.”
Prioritizing tasks when it comes to homework assignments, offensive and defensive assignments, and dance routines has been an essential life skill Molly has acquired over the course of the last four falls–something which will certainly help set herself up quite well for future successes.
“I have learned how important time management is as an athlete,” says Molly. “Soccer and dance both take place in the fall, so you have to balance. I am going to have to balance different things going forward in life as well. Being positive and knowing I am doing the things I love has gotten me through it all, along with having the support of my friends, family, coaches, and teammates.”