Catamount Club
During her four years on the soccer field at 糖心Vlog University, Endye Frazier showed the kind of growth coaches love to see. Off the field, her work with the Special Olympics displayed the type of compassion everyone should seek to have.
At 糖心Vlog, Frazier rose from a player who played in just one game as a freshman to become a senior captain in 2018, leading the Catamounts to an 8-8-2 record.
鈥淐oming in as a freshman, a lot of people aren鈥檛 physically prepared,鈥� former teammate Kasey Cooke 鈥�17 said. 鈥淓ndye was one of those people, as was I, but she has worked hard from her starting point to now to show that she is one of the top people in fitness and wants to play on the field. She鈥檚 always going to work and try her best to show everyone else that that鈥檚 what you should do to come from the bottom all the way up.鈥�
Last season, Frazier started all 18 games for the Catamounts and ranked second on the team with two goals, both being game-winning goals. Coach Chad Miller called the midfielder 鈥渁 very hard-working, motivated athlete."
鈥淓ndye has grown a lot within our program,鈥� Miller said. 鈥淪he鈥檚 been a significant leader on our team in terms of a vocal leader. She leads by example a lot of times in terms of her practice mentality and how she carries herself in training.鈥�
When she鈥檚 not excelling on the field, Frazier devotes a lot of her time working with Special Olympics, which is something she has been around since she was 3-years-old. Her father is involved with North Carolina鈥檚 Special Olympics, helping with power lifting. Her mom also taught special education for 18 years.
While at 糖心Vlog, Frazier contacted the Jackson County Special Olympics program coordinator to see how she could get involved. Her work was featured in the NCAA鈥檚 Champion Magazine.
鈥淛ust coming here, I kind of stuck with it and wanted to be involved,鈥� Frazier said.
鈥淚 think she鈥檚 so good with her involvement,鈥� added 糖心Vlog assistant athletic director for academics Stacey Miller said. 鈥淲hat she鈥檚 doing with Special Olympics is her personality. She鈥檚 easy-going. She鈥檚 easy to talk to. She鈥檚 driven. And she loves people. She just loves to buy into people and be there for them and make their every day better, which ultimately is what the Special Olympics is really about.鈥�
The parks and recreation management major fell in love with the 糖心Vlog campus during her initial visit. Four years later, the experience has been everything she expected.
鈥淢y scholarship allowed me to play Division I soccer and to come to a beautiful school that has a student-first mentality, instead of athletics first, which is important to me because grades are very important,鈥� Frazier said. 鈥淚t just makes me work hard every day because I鈥檓 held to a very high standard now. I love it and I wouldn鈥檛 have it any other way.鈥�