As a gymnast, Lexi Hoekzema was willing to bend over backwards for success.
But there was something missing during a decade of flips, vaults and aerials that started at age 4. When high school rolled around three years ago, Hoekzema wanted something that gymnastics couldn’t give her.
“I feel like gymnastics is a very independent sport,” said Hoekzema, who competed at Philly InMovement at the Bok Building on 9th Street. “In soccer, you have a whole team behind you. A mistake doesn’t define you. It doesn’t give you a score. It’s a lot better to feel like you have a whole team with you and counting on you.”
Now a senior at the Academy at Palumbo, Hoekzema found that camaraderie on the soccer field as she decided to give the sport a try during her freshman year. There was just one problem — There was no girls soccer team at Palumbo. The Griffins were part of a co-op with Constitution High School in Center City, meaning there was even a little more added pressure for Hoekzema, who was trying to make a good first impression with her new teammates.
“It was really scary to be honest,” she said. “I didn’t know anybody. I felt like every mistake I made, I was letting my team down. I felt like a lot of my teammates blamed me for losses or any mistake I made. But as I kept playing, I realized one mistake doesn’t cost us the game and everyone was going to make mistakes. We’re not perfect.”
Constitution went 4-7 in 2023 and improved to 9-4 the following season. But last year, Academy at Palumbo was able to field its own team in South Philly. The Griffins were an instant success, going 9-2 with both losses coming to Public League champion Franklin Towne Charter.
And while both Constitution and Palumbo improved by leaps and bounds, Hoekzema was doing her part off the field. Naturally athletic from her gymnastics background, Hoekzema started playing club soccer to fine-tune her game away from the high school arena. Now she’s a captain of her team and a star on the field, either playing striker or center midfield for the Griffins.
“She gives us lots of leadership,” said Palumbo coach Bridget Mason. “So far she has been running all the warmups for games and practices. I never have to ask them to work as hard as they work because they are always an excellent example for all the younger players.”
Coming off a great inaugural season, the Griffins are tasked with replacing several key positions on the field.
“We lost six seniors, most of whom were starters, so we need to work on finding out who is going to be in different positions,” Mason said. “And that means some big changes for our younger kids and finding out where to use our freshmen.”
The Griffins took their first small step of the season in a 4-0 loss to Little Flower of the Catholic League on Sept. 2. There’s room for improvement and Hoekzema wants to be a part of the turnaround.
“I think it’s really nice to be able to give your input as a captain,” she said. “Anyone on the team can, but I feel like when I wasn’t captain, I didn’t want to speak up because it wasn’t my place. Now it’s nice to be able to let the team know that they’re doing good or they can do better or we’ll get them next time. I like giving that reassurance.”
In addition to starting soccer during freshman year, Hoekzema began playing softball at the same time, where she continues to play in a co-op with Constitution. She also takes a rigorous advanced-placement school schedule, which she hopes leads to her dream job.
“I want to study biology and I want to be an aquatic veterinarian,” Hoekzema said. “I’ve just always loved sea life and animals and I feel like they are very misunderstood so I’m interested in learning all that stuff about them and being able to take care of something that most people wouldn’t know how to.”
Right now, she’s laser-focused on helping her soccer team win games.
“I think if we just do our best and work hard every practice,” Hoekzema said. “I think team chemistry is a big part of being a team and playing well, connecting passes. Hopefully we can build that chemistry and win some games.” ••
