Clair Moss, a 2024 Battle Ground High School graduate, is entering her second year at Linfield University in McMinnville, Oregon.
Already a track and field athlete, Moss will be competing in another sport she loves: soccer.
Moss was a standout goalkeeper at Battle Ground High School with All-League honors, but she decided to rescind her commitment to play soccer at Linfield University and opted to just be a thrower on the track and field team her freshman year. Now, entering her sophomore year of college, Moss will again take to the net, this time at the collegiate level.
“Honestly, I’m just looking forward to getting out on the pitch and having that team feeling back in any capacity,” Moss said. “I took freshman year off, which was the right choice, but I did miss it a lot.”
Moss checked in with the Linfield girls soccer head coach last December but was told a roster spot was unavailable. When she asked again in May, a roster spot was available, and Moss’s return to the soccer pitch was ignited.
“I love soccer, but I didn’t realize how much I loved soccer until I didn’t have the chance to play it,” Moss said.
Moss’s freshman year of college track and field included year-round training with her first competition during the indoor season, but her year was cut short due to a lumbar strain. Moss was able to compete in two indoor meets before being sidelined, she said.
For Moss, throwing at the collegiate level had a major difference from the high school level.
“The difference between college and high school, from what I’ve experienced, is that it’s a lot more focused on your individual growth … You have to be more invested in it, and your coaches are more invested in it,” she said.
With her experiences at the collegiate level, Moss provided some insight to high school athletes who are seeking to compete at the next level. Her biggest advice for athletes aspiring to play at the collegiate level would be to keep their bodies and minds in check.
“Like, make sure you’re eating right and make sure that when you’re working out, you’re working out with a purpose,” she said. “Don’t just work out to work out. … Make sure you have a strong foundation. You don’t want to get injured. College coaches want to see you be honest with your body, like, don’t push yourself to the point of injury, but know your limits, but also push your limits.”
Taking care of the mind is critical for Moss.
“The biggest thing out of all of it that I can say is just take care of your mind, you know,” she said. “Your mind is one of the biggest things that a lot of people neglect in college athletics. It’s a major problem in college athletics. Depression and anxiety is a huge problem within college athletics, so your overall mental wellness is always going to be more important than a workout or a meet or a game or anything. So, it takes a while to learn that, but I think it’s one of the most valuable lessons that you can learn.”
With Moss having the rare opportunity to compete in two sports at the collegiate level, it also means adding stress, but the kind that she is wanting back in her life.
“It’s collegiate stress at a collegiate level,” she said. “I want that stress back in my life because I’ve got that love for the game back again. … A year ago, I would have been like, ‘Oh my God, I don’t want to do this.’ But now I’m itching to get back out on the pitch.”
On the education side, Moss has switched it up a bit as well. She entered college with a vision of becoming an athletic trainer but is now in a tossup between majoring in nursing or pre-med.
“I got into college and realized that from the classes I was taking, that I was definitely more science-driven and trauma response-driven and just wanting to get kind of in a hospital setting,” she said.
