When she gets going, Durango High School girls lacrosse player Kiara Valley is hard to stop. The senior captain is trying to make it more difficult this season, as she has added to an already versatile skill set.
Valley leads the team in goals with 10 in four games and helped the Demons (2-2, 1-1 Mountain League) earn their first conference win of the season in a 12-5 win over Telluride last Wednesday when she scored five goals.
She has been adding to her arsenal with the help of head coach Natalie Mitchell, a former Fort Lewis College player who is in her second year as coach of the Demons.
“Coach has helped me get better with my offensive game,” Valley said. “She wants to teach me new moves instead of the shovel shot. She’s helped me control the flow of the offense and organize the offense and really step up as a leader. I feel a lot more confident and have grown a lot as a player with her constantly trying to have me improve in all areas of my game.”
Mitchell has seen Valley’s confidence grow from the first game of the season – a 15-4 loss to Santa Fe Prep in New Mexico – and believes she can play a crucial role for DHS in order to get to the state tournament for the first time in program history.
“She’s definitely one of our more aggressive attackers out there,” Mitchell said. “When we need some momentum, she’s able to score goals and get us going and is a huge threat on attack. We’ve gone over some goals and, in particular, about using those new moves. She’s got an amazing skill set behind goal, and we’re really working on different things that she can do because, after a while, other teams start keying in on her old habits, but she’s been really receptive to that and really eager to learn.”
Valley, daughter of Vanessa Meisner and Carl Valley, has scored 30-plus goals in each of the last two seasons and could finish with more than 100 career goals if she keeps up the pace.
In addition to being the go-to scorer for the Demons early this season, Valley said she is adjusting to the new role of being a senior leader. Though the team is on the younger side – half of the team consists of underclassmen – she has learned a lot about herself and how to step up in different ways.
“It’s definitely a lot of pressure for me because I’m the shy type of person and everything to where I don’t like to be put into the spotlight,” Valley said. “It’s been an adjustment, but a good one. It may be a lot of responsibility, but I’ve taken it up really well and I try not to let my team down and want to be an example for the younger players, so when they get to their senior year, they know what it takes.”
Monday afternoon’s practice was a prime example. With DHS on spring break, numbers were few, but Valley still led the six girls who showed up in warmup jogs and stretches.
“A lacrosse program like ours is one where there have been some girls like Kiara who have been playing the sport for forever, but there are also some others, even a few seniors, that this is their first team sport they’ve ever played, which makes it super interesting team dynamics,” Mitchell said. “Kiara has stepped up, and it’s great that we’ve got some older leaders like her and others that have experience with them. All of our girls are super supportive of each other, and so the older girls are really good at pushing both JV and varsity and are a good example of what lacrosse should look like.”
Demon fans will have a chance to watch Valley and the rest of the team when it returns from spring break to host Grand Junction at 3 p.m. April 3 at Durango High School.
Behind the scenes
Who is your favorite musical artist?:
Elvis Presley, and my favorite song from him would be “Stuck on you.”
What is your favorite movie?:
“A Star is Born.”
What do you like to eat before a game?:
I love having a strawberry banana smoothie before the game.
Who is your favorite athlete?:
Michael Jordan. I wear No. 23 as my jersey number because of him.
What is your favorite book?:
“Because of Winn-Dixie” by Kate DiCamillo.
What is your favorite local restaurant?:
Serious Texas Bar-B-Q.
If you could have any superpower, what would you pick?:
The ability to teleport because I’m always late to everything and I’d get there faster.
What is your favorite local outdoor activity?:
Hiking and rafting down the Animas River.
If you could take a trip anywhere in the world, where would you go?:
I’d want to go to Paris, France, because you’d really get to learn about the different cultures. Plus, it’s a beautiful place.
What teacher has had the biggest impact on you?:
Mr. Eric Jackson, my anatomy teacher, and Mr. Gregg Cornwall, my old language arts teacher.
Do you have a role model?:
My parents because they’ve really helped me with everything along the way.
