<p><strong>H</strong>igh-pressure situations are nothing new for Olivia Brawley. She’s been face-to-face with goalkeepers on penalty kicks numerous times on the soccer field over the years.</p><p>Under the glare of the Friday night lights, though, it’s a whole new world.</p><p>“It’s a lot different, because whenever I’m kicking I’m the only one out there on the field doing anything, and it just gets really quiet,” Brawley said. “There’s obviously a lot more people at football games, so it’s a lot harder.”</p>[sc:text-divider text-divider-title="Story continues below gallery" ]Click here to purchase photos from this gallery<p>The Greenwood senior has handled her first year on the gridiron pretty well so far. Despite not having the benefit of a spring practice to get acclimated, Brawley has been a dependable asset for the Woodmen on the football field.</p><p>Coach Mike Campbell expected nothing less — which is why he had asked Brawley to come out for the team in the first place. He’d seen her in action on the soccer field, and knowing he had a vacancy at placekicker, Campbell convinced Brawley to give it a shot.</p><p>With the exception of a last-ditch field goal attempt at the end of regulation against Martinsville, Brawley has only been called upon for point-after tries thus far, but she’s delivered pretty consistently, making 19 of 21.</p><p>“If you make those, it makes a world of difference,” Campbell said. “It keeps you on schedule; you don’t have to chase points.”</p><p>The big day-to-day challenge for Brawley is balancing two sports; an All-County performer last fall, she’s still a very important piece of the puzzle for the Woodmen on the soccer field, with two goals and nine assists entering today’s match at Perry Meridian.</p><p>Usually, Campbell will front-load his practices with special teams work so that Brawley can get her reps and then head over to join her soccer teammates on the pitch. Greenwood girls coach Joe Mushrush says that on a typical day, she’s only missing about 15 minutes of warm-up time.</p><p>Aside from a little bit of additional fatigue, particularly on her kicking leg, Mushrush doesn’t feel that football has had any adverse effect on Brawley’s soccer performance.</p><p>“If anybody could have handled it, she has the mentality to do it,” he said. “There was no way we were going to tell her not to do it, because we think this is what athletics is all about — getting out of your comfort zone and challenging yourself. So we’re proud of her for doing that.”</p><p>The transition from kicking soccer balls to kicking footballs isn’t as easy as one might assume; aside from the obvious difference in the shape, a soccer ball is also a bit softer on the foot than a football is.</p><p>Then there’s also the change in approach — instead of trying to keep the soccer ball low to get it under the crossbar, Brawley has to put the football over it.</p><p>“It was a little weird,” she said, “but as I kept doing it and they kept helping me with it, it got a lot easier.”</p><p>Campbell has been extremely impressed with how quickly his rookie kicker has adapted, particularly from a timing standpoint.</p><p>“One thing she has been consistent on, her approach times are as fast or faster than anybody we’ve ever had,” he said. “She’s usually about 1.2 seconds snap to foot, which is exceptional at the high school level. … That’s been a good thing for us.”</p><p>Brawley does not handle kickoffs for the Woodmen — not leaving her in a position to take hits during live-ball action was part of the deal that Campbell made with her parents before the season.</p><p>Still, she’s been eagerly accepted by her Greenwood teammates, most of whom she’d already been friends with off the field for years.</p><p>“I’m known them for a while, and they really don’t treat me any differently,” Brawley said. “At first it was weird, but as time goes they get used to it and I’m used to it, and I just feel like another one of them.”</p>
