Brighton soccer player Kelsey Brown signs with Southwest

Brighton senior Kelsey Brown wanted to be a professional soccer player when she was young.

During her middle school career and early in high school, Brown, by her own admission, kind of forgot about the goal.

But when her junior season cranked up at Brighton and she excelled with her club team, Chickasaw Football Club, she became more interested in continuing her soccer career. That newfound enthusiasm paid off when Brown signed a soccer scholarship with Southwest Tennessee Community College last Friday.

“I knew I wanted to branch out as far as what was around this area and this was a really good distance away,” Brown said about signing with the school in Memphis. “Not too close, not too far. I want to go into physical therapy and they have a really good program for that.”

Brown played various attacking positions during her career at Brighton and was in the top three in goals and assists her senior season.

Brighton coach Kelsi Williams said Brown was the kind of player younger teammates looked up to came to for advice.

“I think her determination and her speed are her main assets,” Williams said. “She really decided she wanted to play at the next level and she worked hard to make that happen. She became a totally different player every year because of her hard work. She’s one of the fastest players I know.”

Brown’s respect for the game and her teammates also stood out to Williams.

“She always showed up to everything, mandatory or not. She’s very respectful to everybody. She tries to include all of the young players. She’s the kind of player girls believe they can talk to and confide in.”