Amy Derry is everything a coach wants in a player.

“She really listens to what I say and what I want to accomplish and really works hard on trying to do them,” Frank Horvat, NIU’s women’s soccer head coach said.

Derry is a hard worker who leads by example and also meets the grade in her academic career. She is a good student who prides herself in her academics and is also dedicated to her role on the soccer team.

“She’s a good role model for the rest (of the team),” said Horvat.

Practice does not seem to be a chore for Derry. She thrives off woking hard and is not scared of the after affects.

“My goal is everyday to come out (of practice) really tired and being able to say to myself that I worked hard that day,” Derry said.

Derry would like to be able to push her teammates to work harder everyday in practice. The best way to do this is to lead by example, she said.

“I think that if they see me working hard that they might follow me as a role model for the team by working hard,” Derry said.

She is a good example for her fellow teammates during practices and games. Beyond that she is also a good role model in her academics. She is an ideal student-athlete.

Not only is Derry intelligent in the classroom, she is also smart on the field.

“She’s very intellegent and shows she knows the game well, she makes wise decisions when she has the ball,” Horvat commented.

Hard work does not scare away Derry. Before the season began Horvat gave the team a conditioning schedule outlining workouts for the players to do so they would come into the season ready to work on soccer skills, not endurance.

Not only did she follow the workout, she said that on some days she would do more than Horvat had planned because she knew how tough the practices would be, having played for Horvat in high school.

At Rockford High School Derry played four years of varsity soccer under Horvat. Some think that she transfered to NIU because Horvat was going to be the head coach.

Derry is a gift from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Wisconsin recently decided to cut their physical therapy program next year, the program which she intended to pursue.

After making her decision to attend NIU and enroll in the physical therapy program she learned that Horvat was seeking the head coaching job.

“She’s probably the highest skilled player we have,” Horvat said.

Her stats back up Horvat’s claim. She leads the team in goals with five, and is tied for second in assists with three.

Derry had back to back games where she scored two goals. The first was in NIU’s 14-0 route of Teikyo-Marycrest. The next came against Oral Roberts in the Huskies’ 5-0 victory.

“I really respect how hard she works everyday and she has soccer listed as a priority. When she’s out there she gives 100 percent,” Horvat said.