Phoenix College women’s soccer star Taylor Claiborne broke three scoring records in her senior year at Glendale Raymond S. Kellis High School.
She is currently tied for fourth in the nation in goals scored for Phoenix College. And the freshman forward is the only player this season to be named player of the week twice in the Arizona Community College Athletic Conference.
“She’s just a natural finisher,” PC coach Chris Sagar said. “You get her in front of the goal and she has a knack for finding the back of the net.”
But even naturals struggle and need to work to improve their talents.
Claiborne hit a turning point during her senior season in high school and, with the help of her coach, elevated her play so that she is now one of the most consistent scoring threats in the NJCAA.
aymond S. Kellis coach Lacey Rhoads played for Sagar at PC for two seasons before ultimately returning to her high school alma mater to teach physical education and coach soccer. She recognized Claiborne’s gifts but knew they needed to be molded.
“In the beginning of the year, she struggled with finishing, which I really got on her (about) and told her that it didn’t matter how the ball went into the goal, as long as it did,” Rhoads said.
Rhoads brought her former coach’s philosophy, intensity and focus on work ethic to Kellis. She worked with Claiborne and soon saw a transformation in her top scorer.
“She used to be a forward that would just shoot as hard as she could and hope that it was on frame,” Rhoads said. “I started telling her that with her speed and her skill, she should able to finish in the corner. So she started doing that and she started realizing that it worked.”
The realization had explosive results. Claiborne set the record for the most goals scored in a game with five. She crushed the single-season scoring record by 15 when she finished with 34 goals and her 76 career goals broke the career record by 18.
After the season, Rhoads and Claiborne continued to work together in the evenings to prepare for the possibility of college soccer. Claiborne wants to play for NAU and enroll in its dental hygiene program, but after she missed her dream school’s early recruiting window she began to investigate other short-term options.
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