Teammates Kaylee Bovia and Lataste DuBose will return for their senior soccer season at Pell City next year.

Kaylee Bovia and Lataste DuBose are upcoming senior members of the Pell City Lady Panthers soccer team.  Both have played the sport since age 7, and their defensive efforts helped boost the Lady Panthers to their first-ever playoff appearance last season.

Positions

Bovia:  Goalkeeper.

DuBose:  Outside right defender.

About their positions

Bovia:  “Goalkeeping is different from any other position.  I believe you have to be really skilled to play it.  You have to have good reflexes, and you can’t get discouraged with yourself.  You have to be brave enough to take a lot of balls to the face, and you have to have a commanding voice.  From my perspective, I can see everything, so if something is going wrong, I have to be able to communicate how to fix it on the field.”

DuBose:  “It requires a lot of running, a lot more than I like.  I have to anticipate moves and try to keep the wing players from taking the ball all the way down to the flag and crossing over.  I don’t have to have a lot of ball skills.  I just have to get it away from them.  I don’t have as much responsibility as a goalkeeper, but I do what I can.  I’m on the right, so I usually get left-footed people, and they tend to be very good.”

Injuries

Bovia:  She’s dislocated both shoulders, taken kicks to the elbow, and suffered the jammed finger injuries common to goalkeepers.

DuBose:  Pulled leg muscles, sprained ankles, and assorted cuts and bruises.  “I’ve never had any hard-core soccer injuries.”

Soccer stress

Bovia:  “I’m competitive.  I like to win.  When we’re not winning, it’s stressful to me.”

DuBose:  “The most stress is on the physical body, which can cause mental stress.  If your body is in stress, your mind will be too.”

Their parents  

Bovia:  Jennifer and Kevin Mayo and Jason Bovia.  

DuBose:  Brent and Jenny DuBose.

Favorite subjects

Bovia:  Math and history.

DuBose:  Chemistry.

After high school

DuBose:  She plans to attend Troy University to pursue studies for a career in sports journalism.

Bovia:  She hopes to attend the University of Michigan.  “I’d like to be a photographer and maybe play some soccer here and there.”