Athletes of the Week: Dennesha Rolle, Abby Smith & Robin Potter

Girls dash back and forth across the grassy field, passing soccer balls swiftly to each other and running drills. Throughout practice, senior co-captains Robin Potter, Dennesha Rolle and Abby Smith shout encouragement to their teammates and joke with each other. Players are training hard, but still smiling, making the time pass quickly for everyone.

Co-captain Dennesha Rolle first started playing soccer in kindergarten and carried her passion for the sport throughout her four years of playing for Big Red. In her words, her love for the sport is mainly because soccer is “really fun and there is a lot of energy.”

Rolle takes her role seriously and constantly strives to better herself as a leader as well as improve the team as a whole. She said, “To me, being a captain means that I am a designated leader of [the] team and that I have increased responsibility and jurisdiction within the team. I feel obligated to set a good example for my teammates and hold them all to a high standard across the board.”

In addition to setting a good example for her teammates, Rolle believes a major duty for captains is to foster a positive team culture. “Something else about being a captain that is really exciting is that we get to kind of create a team culture. We had amazing captains last year that set a great example for us,” she said.

“I embrace this role by trying to bring energy and intensity everyday; I think that stagnation or complacency on a team  is extremely detrimental. I try to celebrate my teammates often and be quite relentless in my cheering.”

Rolle’s teammates especially appreciate her for always bringing high spirits to wherever the team goes. Lower Cecilia Treadwell said, “Dennesha is really fun and outgoing. She tries to hype everyone up and she always acts like a coach.”

It seems that Assistant Coach Ardura agrees—when asked about the qualities Rolle brings to the team, she exclaimed, “I think she’s ready to be a coach!”

Smith’s soccer career began at the young age of three. Ever since her first season on the team as a prep alongside Rolle and Potter, she has felt at home with the team. “The Exeter soccer team is the best team I have ever been on! Soxie—the team nickname Girls’ Soccer has given themselves—is like a small family,” Smith said.

Smith helps the team focus during practices and at games, bringing the drive the team needs to perform best. She said, “As a captain, I feel like it is my responsibility to keep the team environment competitive but fun for everyone. Obviously, everyone wants to win games, [which goes] hand in hand with focusing during practice or fixing our mistakes. And as a captain, it is important to be a role model for the younger players [to show them] what it is like to be a good soccer player and teammate.”

Potter started soccer at the young age of three and started her soccer career on the Exeter Rec team the same year as Rolle. The two have played together for pretty much their entire lives.

Potter described being on the team as a much-needed outlet and escape from the hectic and demanding life of an Exonian. “I look forward to practicing every day as a time to let go of anything that is stressing me out,” she said.

Potter added that being a co-captain is more than being a good leader; she strives to be a good role model for everyone on the team. “I embrace this role by pushing myself to show up to each practice and game ready to work hard. I want our team to be competitive and in order to enforce that, I have to hold myself to that standard.”

She has given herself high expectations but exceeds them with her performances during games and attitudes during practices. Treadwell commented on her determination, “She teaches you how to improve your playing on the team when she gets on the field, she’s in it to win it.”

Potter’s enthusiasm and work ethic as both a co-captain and player translate to the rest of the team. “Robin is a very positive leader. She tends to finish every talk or sentence with a smile or an encouraging word,” Ardura said.

Treadwell shared similar sentiments about Robin’s helpful and caring personality, saying, “Robin is the sweetest person you can ever meet. She’s quieter out of all the captains, but she stills plays the important role of being a role model.”

In addition to her positive spirit, Potter brings a special set of skills to the team. Coach Ardura recalled a particular highlight from the season, saying, “Robin has given us very important goals this year. I still remember a 30 yard shot to the upper right side of the goal vs. Holderness. It was incredible! Because of her position, Robin is most likely one of the players who runs the most each game. [It] requires a lot of endurance, discipline and athleticism.”

An important factor in Smith, Rolle, and Potter’s outstanding leadership and collective teamwork is their variety in approaches to leading the team. Head Coach Alexa Caldwell described, “They all have a slightly different leadership style. Dennesha is very vocal and very direct with her communication. Abby is still vocal, [but] not as loud and will give more specific comments and feedback to the group during a drill. Robin is an encourager who will have more individual conversations with teammates. All of them work really hard in practice and all three are really strong competitors.”

For the co-captains, this season in particular was filled with high hopes. Smith said, “I appreciate how everybody on the team is highly competitive, as we had high expectations for our record this year than years in the past.”

Rolle agreed, saying, “We have a lot of really good athletes on the team. We are doing better this season than we have in my past three years, which is super exciting!”