Grantham's reality check gives way to normal life

By Justin Harper

Published: July 26, 2008

NORMAN — Summer Grantham was born to be a soccer player and destined to be a Sooner. But what appeared to be a perfect marriage of the two didn't pan out.

A standout soccer player and lifelong University of Oklahoma devotee, Grantham came face-to-face with the prospect of playing soccer for the Sooners. After three starring seasons at Norman High School and top-shelf showings at OU soccer camps in the summer, Grantham had proven herself to be a college-level talent. And, even before she went into her senior season, OU coach Randy Evans had started talking to Grantham.

On the surface it seemed like a dream come true. After all, as her mother Cindy will attest, Summer had her college choice made before she even realized she was good enough to play collegiate athletics.

However, a major roadblock was thrown Grantham's way when OU let Evans go in the fall of 2007, just two months prior to what would be an All-State senior season for the center midfielder. Other offers remained, but again, Grantham was dead-set on OU.

But a silver-lining emerged.

"I realized something I hadn't thought about before,” said the 18-year-old. "Ever since I started playing competitive soccer, I envisioned myself playing at OU and that was my dream. Then reality set in.”

Reality was that 13 years of year-round soccer at the highest level can wear on a person.

"It gets old after a while,” said Grantham, who scored 47 goals from 2005-07 and was part of Norman's 2005 state championship team. "It was a personal choice for me to stop playing. People don't realize how much it takes away from other things. I wanted to try living a normal life. I have never lived without soccer.”

So, Grantham will begin life at OU with a much different schedule than she planned.

"I talk to my friends who are playing college soccer and I see the rigorous workouts they have to do daily and how early they have to report to school,” said Grantham, who plans to major in health and exercise science. "I see how they're already stressing about it. And it's kind of comforting because I know I made the right choice for me.”

Since her father Huey and Cindy have OU soccer season tickets, Grantham said she's very likely to take in a Sooner game this fall. But will she have regrets? Probably not.

"I'm going to enjoy experiencing a normal life,” she said. "But I will play intramurals. That should be just enough soccer for me.”

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