One of the biggest lessons many of our local athletes are learning this spring is how to deal with adversity that is out of their control. The COVID-19 pandemic cancelled spring sports in Iowa due to no fault of any of the high school athletes. The Knoxville Girls Soccer season was wiped out and this season could have been one of its best ever as the girls were looking at a more challenging schedule and looking to advance farther in the postseason. One of the seniors who was to figure prominently for the Panthers was Emma DeJoode. She was just 25 goals away from breaking the all-time goals scored record for the Panthers. However, after hearing the season was cancelled, DeJoode says she did not think about the record that would never be broken, but she thought of her teammates and sent them a message.

DeJoode:
“I thanked them for the seasons that I got to have with them. I explained to the freshmen that I wished I could have played more than just club with them, and I was really excited to be with a good group of girls that I had got to know over the years.”

DeJoode’s career is not over as she will play for the Central Women’s program this fall. Listen for a feature on DeJoode throughout the day today in our Spring Sports Spotlights on KNIA/KRLS.