Sports

Catching Up With Mikala McGhee

The former three sport star at Pattonville reflects on her time away from the Pirates and getting ready for a sophomore season at Missouri State.

During the first half of Friday's girls district soccer championship, a familiar face came out of the crowd to join the Pattonville Pirates on the bench as they took on Parkway Central.

But this time, Head Coach Tom Iffrig couldn't put her in the game. Mikala McGhee was back to root on her former teammates. McGhee, who starred on the softball diamond, the basketball court and the soccer pitch for what seemed like forever, was back in town for a spell from Springfield, where she's wrapped up her freshman year as a Missouri State basketball Bear.

"I love basketball and I love playing but I’m just real used to going from season to season and during my first full year of basketball it’s just been a really big difference," she said.

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"I thought I knew what conditioning was when I was in high school and it was just a whole ‘nother level in college," she added. "Everything was just the next level everything like running, physicality, time management, I mean I feel like I adjusted really well so I wasn’t really concerned."

McGhee played in 20 games for the Lady Bears, averaging 2 points in 8.5 minutes per game before suffering a high ankle sprain late in the season. McGhee will play next season for a new coaching staff, as Head Coach Kellie Harper and Assistant Jackie Stiles come in to replace the previous regime which recruited McGhee. 

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While she said she loved the staff that brought her to Springfield, McGhee said the new regime is well-respected, both from their playing days and as coaches and mentors.

And as for her former soccer compatriots, who she saw defeat Parkway Central 3-0 and who bested Hazelwood Central Tuesday for a spot in the state quarterfinals? 

"I was telling the guys on the bench 'why didn’t you do this when we were playing you guys are actually talking to eachother,'" she joked.

"Just watching them made me miss being part of the team and I’m really proud of how they’re playing. I hope they go a really long way this season."


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