Athlete of the Week: Danielle Sim

Danielle Sim’s effortless skill on the soccer field is flawless to the point that fellow senior Mairead McCarthy describes the way “she turns her hips to fake out a defender” as “kind of like salsa dancing. It’s tricky and it’s one of the ways she gets past so many defenders,” McCarthy said.Sim has been a member of the girls’ varsity soccer team--commonly known by Exonians as “Soxie”-- for three years, after joining the Academy as a new lower.“Every day I can count on her to show up happily to practice, put on her cleats and proceed to give her best effort,” Hilary Coder, the girls’ varsity soccer coach, said.Growing up near Baltimore, Maryland, Sim started playing soccer at the age of four, after joining a rec team and participating in summer clinics. Her interest, however, increased when she was chosen to play goalie for a local travel team.“Apparently I was really good,” Sim recounted, laughing at memories of her six year-old self.During her time on the travel team, a squad made up of girls who compete against players of a similar age in their respective state, Sim decided she hated the position of goalie.“I just started crying every single time I played,” she said. “Finally I convinced them to let me play forward.” Sim has played forward ever since.Her love for the sport further intensified at the beginning of middle school, when Sim moved to a club team, which played inter-state. Though she encountered a difficult transition, she gained confidence and improved her skills after finding her niche at the front of the field.At home, Sim, whose older brother graduated from the Academy Class of 2007, attended an all girls’ institution for the first year of high school.She spoke of the contrast between the soccer played at home in comparison to Soxie.“It was really different because at my all-girls’ school, I was playing at the high school and club levels,” she said. “I got that higher intensity of club and I could work on different skills.”Sim departed from her year-round club team and joined Big Red’s Soxie season in the fall of 2011.“I missed playing club a lot because we played during all seasons,” she said. “At Exeter the team only has three months to play and to improve play. I find it hard to keep up with my skills through the spring.”Many recognized that Sim, who is a powerful influence and loud presence on Soxie, has changed both as a player and as a person during her time representing Big Red. Teammates remembered Sim’s timid nature during her first season at Phillips Exeter Academy.“She was really quiet, but everyone knew she was a threat on the field,” McCarthy said. “Over the years she’s really come out of her shell and been a leader to all of us.”Coach Coder observed Sim’s boost in self-confidence, which helped strengthen her technique and skill.“Over the past few years I would say the single most enhanced characteristic I can ascertain is confidence,” Coder said. “As a lower she was shy and reserved, both in her demeanor and her play. Dani has now taken on all the responsibility of being a senior.”Having lost six graduating seniors from the class of 2013, Soxie is a relatively young team this year, with a total of 12 preps and lowers.“It was hard trying to find our place,” Sim said. “We were having trouble connecting as a team in terms of ball movement, defense and scoring.”Sim’s non-defeatist attitude pushed her to work harder to invigorate the girls and boost morale, in spite of their difficulties.“I guess a lot of the new kids look up to Susannah and me,” Sim said.  “I am pretty aggressive on the field and I think they learn to how to defend themselves and keep the defenders away.”“I try to look out for the preps and lowers because they are pretty small,” she added.Others girls acknowledged Sim as a natural leader on the team.“If you ask any prep on the team who the leading players on the team are, Dani will definitely be included,” McCarthy said. “She advises the younger players and she always looks for ways to integrate them onto the team, even if it’s as simple as sitting with a prep on the bus to away games.”Coder also identified Sim’s ability to foster an inclusive, comfortable atmosphere and a balanced team dynamic between the younger and older players.“Every day I watch her have conversations with young, developing players. I think that helps support the kids either with their play, or with their adjustment to Exeter,” Coder said.Despite initial expectations that seniors could be arrogant and distant, Sim’s convivial and enthusiastic nature alleviated prep Hannah Gustafson’s worries.“Dani takes on equal responsibility along with the rest of the team and is the first to move a goal off or on the field or to pick up the cones after the drill,” Gustafson said.“I look up to Dani,” Gustafson continued. “She’s like the big sister that I never had. I have developed my skills so much this year learning from Dani and playing with her everyday.”While Sim’s personality inspires teammates, her skills on the field also incite respect, prompting the girls to fight harder for the ball and defend the goal more vigorously.“Dani controls the field,” McCarthy said. “I’m always so impressed when I watch her take the ball and dribble through four or five defenders. That’s not a normal thing in soccer and it’s really motivating to see her do it.”Sim’s fearlessness and passion helps set an example for the younger players, especially the preps.Prep Daniella Nemirovsky described Sim as a “warrior” on the field.“I have never seen her back out of a tackle or give up on a ball, and I aspire to be able to play with that level of intensity,” Nemirovsky said.Although Sim’s soccer career at Exeter will come to a close in the home game against Phillips Andover this Saturday, she will continue to pursue her passion of soccer at Williams College, a Division III school, next September.“I am definitely excited to play there, and I’m probably excited to get beat up, too,” Sim said.  “College is a different level than high school; it’s faster paced. When I’m part of a team in college, I’ll immediately have a support group to fall back on.”Sim’s positive presence will be missed by all next year. “Dani’s selflessness, along with that of her peers, has been a critical factor in the team staying as intact as it has under really tough circumstances.” Coder said. “She is everything a coach could hope for in a senior leader on the team.”