Girls soccer at the highschool level can be easily overlooked, but Jocelyn Leigh shined a light on the team here at ETHS. As a freshman, she was given a Varsity jersey, and as a young sophomore, she led the Kits to state. Jocelyn Leigh graduated the second all time leading scorer and an All American. Her greatness started right here in Evanston.

As a kid, Leigh was put into a handful of sports. Both of her parents played sports at the collegiate level, and understood how important it was for their daughter to grow in that environment, despite racial struggles that come with being an athlete. As Leigh became more competitive with soccer, there was a clear lack of diversity. On most teams, she was one of the few people of color if not the only one.

“The biggest challenge I have had to deal with is not feeling like I belong. But the main thing is to learn how to exist in these spaces but also further help diversify those spaces,” Leigh said.

Looking back on these issues of isolation, Jocelyn Leigh hopes to be a black role model to kids that she struggled to find growing up. The love one can have for a sport is beyond special and Leigh wants to be the model that proves you can obtain greatness and that love, even when you are discriminated against.

“Soccer is a place when you can step on the field and nothing else matters. Only the 10 other people you are playing with. It doesn’t matter what you look like, or what you believe in, you all just have one common goal. So for little kids of color to see me play soccer, and think maybe I could do it, is a great feeling,” Leigh commented.

Jocelyn Leigh graduated ETHS in the spring of 2024, and played Division 1 soccer at Loyola University the following fall. Due to a staff change, Leigh has taken her talents to Marquette University where she has already begun spring training. Leigh’s legacy didn’t stop once she hung up her Evanston jersey. As a collegiate athlete, she already managed to be a lead scorer as a freshman. As a part of the program at Loyola and now at Marquette, she is still one of very few people of color on the team but has only helped diversify sports.

Football has always been an extremely popular sport to watch and at Evanston, students treat it like a social event. For junior Mike Pryor, football is his story. If you know about Evanston football, you know about Mike Pryor, the All Conference linebacker as a junior. Although growing up, Pryor was not always the star of the show.

“I was probably the worst kid on the field, smallest kid, and then overtime started getting better,” Pryor said.

As Pryor got older, his talents and his awareness grew. It was evident to him that people viewed him and treated him differently purely off the color of his skin. In his first rivalry game on varsity, the opposing team called him and his teammate the N word. 

“I do feel like I get targeted a lot, just because of the color of my skin,” Pryor said.

Pryor takes this discrimination and tries to be a leader among other black athletes, showing them discrimination doesn’t define greatness.

“A lot of kids look up to me because I’m a black athlete. I was a sophomore starting on varsity so everybody knew about me,” Pryor commented.

After finding out his father was diagnosed with cancer as an 8th grader, Pryor vouched to work the hardest he could, in a time he so easily could’ve given up. He has become a model to kids and Black athletes that despite things not going your way, over and over again, work pays off. 

“Football can always help somebody or bring them back to what you love, they can always become a better person through football,” Pryor said.

Brittany Johnson is the head coach of the women’s basketball team and Assistant Athletic Director here at Evanston. When she began nine years ago, she was the only female, black coach in the conference. At ETHS, she has founded the Varsity Club, an organization for student athletes to learn how to become leaders. Not only does she lead the girls basketball team, she leads many kids who are a part of the athletic program, being a role model to all.

“Your voice matters and you have to learn how to use it. And I want to keep on leading programs where it empowers young people to use their voice,” Johnson said. “I love the fact that here at Evanston I get to work in a place where that’s such a mindset that people have around inclusion and diversity.”

Throughout Johnson’s journey, diversity was lacking on every team she was a part of. Growing up at a predominantly white high school, Johnson was forced to handle white dominated spaces on and off the court.

“There were seven black kids in my class at Fenwick, I was the only girl. I was also the only black athlete on my basketball team so that was a different experience. Going into certain rivalry games the crowds would say crazy things to me. I look back on it grateful for it, because it made me a lot stronger,” Johnson said.

After high school, Johnson continued her basketball career at Boston College. Here, she had a female, black coach, a role she had never even heard about being occupied by a female of color. Having this coach disprove traditional roles, Johnson fell in love with the idea of being a coach.

“When I look and see other young female, black coaches, it just makes me excited, because I know how important that is, because it was so important in my journey,” Johnson said.

On the Evanston girls basketball staff, Johnson has two former players of color that help coach the team. From being the only black player on her team in highschool, to making it at a collegiate level, and starting a very popular club within ETHS, Johnson claims her biggest success is when she sees kids live their dreams.

Nyel Rollins is a current Evanston senior and a multi-talented athlete with many accomplishments. Her career in athletics started with basketball, but now she has been a part of state teams for both Track and Field and the recently added girls Flag Football team. Rollins dedication to her sports and bringing diversity into athletics is something every athlete should strive to be.

“My dad is a basketball fanatic, so he and I kind of connected on that. For a long time I played basketball in elementary school until eighth grade, and then I quit, partly because team sports are not my favorite thing,” said Rollins. 

Nyel stated that she loved to have control when it came to her sports. She liked to blame herself when something goes wrong and give herself props when she does something good. One of the main reasons she joined track, and this self discipline was what made her so successful.

“Once I got to sixth grade I started training with the high school team and so it kind of became more of a big deal for me,” commented Rollins on the start of her track journey. 

Rollins has been to State for track the past three years and plans to go again this year. 

“The IHSA track state is huge. The stands are huge. It’s completely packed,” Rollins said. “It really feels like when you’re running you’re on a stage with everyone watching. It’s literally the best runners from all over the state.”

Rollins’ experience at State did not end with Track, this year she made history with the girls flag football team at the first ever IHSA flag football state. While unfortunately she injured her hand before the State game she was a major asset to the team during the regular season.

Such an incredible athlete finds inspiration from others. For Rollins it was her father and her older teammates.

“My dad always knew what he was talking about. And most of the time when he gave me advice he ended up being right.”

When she joined Track she found role models in her older teammates and other extremely accomplished ETHS alumni, Abrielle Artley, Rikki Gray, and Jacklynn Okereke.

“Those three girls are my idols,” Rollins emphasized.

Now Rollins acts as an idol for other generations of athletes. But being in the spotlight doesn’t always come easy.

“It just comes with being a black woman in general. I feel like sometimes when people ask me ‘what are you involved in’ or ‘what are your positions’ because I’m a captain of both my teams, I feel like people are surprised that I’m able to do as much as I do,” Nyel stated. “People question that I’m able and capable to do school work and track, and yeah I can just like every other person before who’s not black.”

Rollin doesn’t let her race get in the way of her accomplishments but having your abilities constantly questioned is something white athletes don’t have to face.

“People don’t expect that I can do as much as I do.”

To aid these issues Rollins participates in many organizations that promote diversity and inclusion at ETHS and beyond. Within ETHS she has helped plan the Black Student Summit since she was a freshman. 

“My biggest takeaway from [The Black Student Summit] is that although we have this community of black students that we want to bring together, we are so different. Every single one of us is so different and has different interests. We’re from different areas and all that. I think in society we often get wrapped up into one big circle like we’re all the same person. We are all ghetto, and other stereotypes.”

“Creating this summit and having all these different black people at the summit and talking to all of them and seeing their interests it’s interesting to see how different each of us are, just like every other community, but we are just not seen that way.”

She also works within our athletic conference to educate other schools on the importance of diversity and representation in sports through her work on the Student Advisory Athletic Committee. Her main goal as an athlete is to improve the athletic community.

“Whether it’s as a black woman or just in general, it’s being able to see yourself in somebody. Whether it’s about being black or not.”

Senior Kaidan Chatham is a new addition to the Evanston community. He transferred this year from Niles North to play basketball. Despite his novelty to the team, the impact Chatham has made for Evanston basketball has been significant.

Chatham started his athletic career playing football and only started playing basketball in high school.

“My freshman year, I kind of just did it because my friends were doing it and I just figured it was something fun to do.”

Chatham had experience playing recreationally, but never got serious into the game until he made Varsity for Niles North his sophomore year and secured a starting spot halfway through the season.

“I could just tell the intensity level changed a lot. I was like okay this is going to be pretty fun and I just wanted to test it out and see where it goes. And here I am now,” Chatham said.

When Chatham was stuck on the bench at the beginning of his sophomore year at Niles North he made a decision that he wanted to be great.

“I made a promise to myself that I was going to try and get All Conference. So the year after that, my junior year, I think we went 10-0 in conference and I also got All Conference,” said Chatham.

Now Chatham is one of Evanston’s strongest players, helping them reach a ranking in the top 10 in the state. Chatham is definitely on the way to get even bigger awards than All Conference.

His passion for basketball and athletics started when he was growing up with his family.

“Growing up with my cousins and siblings we would all go to the park or just go somewhere to play basketball and it was fun competing against older and bigger competition,” said Chatham. “That’s where I kind of found my love for sports.”

Now Chatham is playing at such a high level of athletics which can come with lots of competition.

“You can definitely tell some people have advantages just because of their resources and the connections they have, but that’s just kind of like what the sports world is right now.”

At Evanston basketball is a sport that tends to be dominated by black athletes. But this year Evanston has a historically white dominated team. 

“I heard a lot that this is a predominantly white team in Evanston history. I figured it was kind of funny but that didn’t really affect me, I mean they are still my guys and it is fun playing alongside them,” stated Chatham.

To all young athletes Chatham recommends trying out new experiences even if they might be intimidating at first.

“Even if you don’t like something, you should just try it out. You never know where it goes and you only get one high school career. So just enjoy every moment and get new experiences.”