'It's not just talent': Pueblo West's Jocelyn Thompson talks hard work, leading her team

The Pueblo West girls soccer program has been on a mission since last season.

One of their goals is to win the South-Central League and make the playoffs. Last year, the team fell short of that goal.

However, this year, with a small contingent of veteran leadership, the Cyclones are poised to make their goal a reality.

Enter junior striker Jocelyn Thompson. She is one of the few upperclassmen on the Cyclones team and she is doing what she can to help lead this young squad while still maintaining her role as a leader.

Thompson began playing soccer at a young age. Like most youth athletes, Thompson enjoyed being out on the field with her friends and playing games with her club team.

However, when she entered high school, things became more serious on the pitch. She started working hard toward her goal of leading her team and trying to establish herself as one of the better players in the city.

One of the things helping her play so well is the friends and teammates she has played with now for years.

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“Adrian Robinson, she's a junior. We've been best friends since we were little, playing soccer,” Thompson said. “We've just always kind of had this understanding with each other, it's kind of funny, like reading each other's minds. We understand each other and how we play. I think we kind of bring the aspect to our team and I think our teammates are reading off that and learning from us.”

With the team starting to come together this season, Thompson and the other Cyclone members have one clear goal in mind.

“I think beating County is our biggest thing, I think we could do it this year,” Thompson said. “I think this is our year to beat them and I think that we're going to go far, and winning the S-CL would be nice.”

Thompson also has personal goals in mind, too.

“I broke (Coach Tim) Decker's daughter’s (assist) record last year and I think that was really fun,” Thompson said. “But some of the freshmen are getting up there too, so I'm kind of worried. But no, I'm trying to break it again this year and then hopefully getting the career goals too.”

The young team is filled with a plethora of talent, and that talent is in need of guidance. That is something that Thompson says she didn’t really receive when she was a freshman and is looking to change that kind of thought process for the team in the future.

“When I was a freshman, we weren't accepted because we were freshmen,” Thompson said. “So, my goal is to bring in these freshmen and use them for good and not worry about (if) they're going to go for my stats or for my playing time. We're using them as if they're part of the team, so, we're going to build off each other.”

With the team all buying into the new mindset, production has gone up across the board. Players are falling into their respective roles on the team and depth that was once missing before is now present and in full effect.

“I think we kind of realized that we weren't as deep as we wanted to be and I think that we needed to take what we had and just work with it as much as we can,” Thompson said. “I think that we captured what we had and just worked with it.”

Thompson is always thinking about soccer. When she’s not at practice or a game, she's at home looking over film, trying to see what areas of her game she can improve to help her team.

Ultimately, Thompson hopes to attend a college for physical therapy while also playing soccer. She’s committed to the game and knows talent alone will not get her where she wants to be.

“(Always) just keep working hard,” Thompson said. “It's not just talent that will get you there, it takes hard work.”

The Cyclones (3-2-1, 3-0-0) are currently tied for first place in the S-CL with the Pueblo County Hornets with two games remaining on the schedule against their rival. Thompson is leading the team in goals scored with nine so far this season which is good for third in the league.

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Christopher Abdelmalek is a sports reporter for the Pueblo Chieftain and can be reached at cabdelmalek@gannett.com or follow him on X, formerly Twitter, @chowebacca. Support local news, subscribe to The Pueblo Chieftain at subscribe.chieftain.com 

This article originally appeared on The Pueblo Chieftain: Pueblo West girls soccer may be young, but Jocelyn Thompson ready