Abraham Lincoln senior Paige Bracker grew up in an athletic family that always competed for everything. Her battles with her brother, Creighton, to sit in the front seat of the car eventually led to her mother, Becky, having to create a schedule for who got the front.
That competitive drive and hard work helped develop Bracker into one of the elite defensive soccer players in the state. She led Abraham Lincoln to the Class 3A State Championship, the first ever state championship appearance for any Abraham Lincoln girls team in school history.
Her performance has led to her being named the Council Bluffs Player of the Year.
"It’s good because a lot of time defenders don’t really get recognized," Bracker said about how it felt to win the honor. "To be able to get recognized as a defender is pretty cool. I couldn’t really do it without my team because we accomplished a lot this year because we had really high goals."
Bracker led the Lynx to 11 shutouts and a 17-4 record.
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Bracker started playing sports from an early age. She tried out every sport made available to her, including soccer, when she was 3 years old.
"You can set individual and team goals for myself," Bracker said about why she loves soccer. "It’s really competitive and I’m a really competitive person. You can improve yourself and work towards a lot of things. ... Just to like never stab at the ball, win the ball, connect passes with your forwards, get plays started because it really starts with the backline, if you don’t do your job than offense can’t do their job."
A.L. head coach Robbie Miller said he was not surprised to see her reach this level.
The Lynx had a loaded roster this year, but Miller said the run this year wouldn't have been possible without Bracker.
"Paige was one of our leaders," he said. "(She has an) incredible work ethic and positivity that she shares. Sometimes with kids when they work really hard they get emotional or angry or whatever. Paige isn’t that way. Paige works hard all the time. It’s who she is. In practice and in games there was no difference. Whenever we had practice and a younger player walks in they see Paige working so hard and she’s one of the best players there. She just sets the tone for the culture for the team.
"It really pushed everyone to be like, ‘I have to work really hard too all the time.’ Her work ethic from her freshman year to her senior year it changed our team for the better. We wouldn’t have been in the state championship without her changing her culture in that way."
That same attitude led Bracker to earning valedictorian honors at Abraham Lincoln this year after finishing with the highest GPA.
"She just worked so hard getting there," Miller said. "She wanted that. That was one of the goals she set for herself. She just sets goals and she meets them. ... Her work ethic and drive is remarkable. She’s going to accomplish whatever she wants to do. She’s such a nice kid too."
Her talent on the field landed her a spot at Augustana University in Sioux Falls where she will continue to play college soccer.
"I’m excited," Bracker said about playing college soccer. "I think that’s the part I wasn’t super sad about leaving because I knew I wasn’t done with soccer and I get to keep doing what I love at the next level.
"... I loved the coach and the team atmosphere. They’re super welcoming and wanted you on the team. They’re really competitive and have high expectations for you and want to push you to improve your game."
While at college Bracker plans on studying exercise science before eventually going to Physician Assistant School where she hopes to get into orthopedics to help injured athletes rehabilitate.
June 22, 2022 at 08:30PM
https://nonpareilonline.com/sports/amateur/all-city-player-of-the-year-hard-work-pays-off-for-bracker/article_0e3b0480-ecf2-11ec-8ff1-fb65cd0d6eb8.html
All-City Player of the Year: Hard work pays off for Bracker - The Daily Nonpareil
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