How BYU women's soccer's Lucy Kesler gives back to the rising generation of athletes

Orange slices, the squeak of size two basketball sneakers, and the thwack of a ball against a racket were everyday sounds for the young sports enthusiast Lucy Kesler.

But at 12 years old, Lucy had a decision to make. Does she leave behind her other sports for a shot to become an elite soccer player?

She knew that if she wanted to be great, she would have to give it everything she had, and the allure of the world's most popular sports was just too much to resist.

She worked tirelessly for her final two years of junior high so that when her freshman year of high school came around, she was ready to join one of the top club programs in the state of Utah.

This team was a sacrifice for the Kesler family, who lived in Highland, Utah, about an hour drive from Ogden, where the team she wanted to play for was based.

Lucy's parents, Cameron and Camille Kesler, being collegiate athletes themselves at Colorado Mesa, both understood the sacrifices that it takes to be a college athlete. Her dad played baseball, and her mom was a basketball player, but when it came to Lucy, they were both her biggest cheerleaders.

As high school began for Lucy, she began to tackle the overwhelming process of getting recruited to play for a college. She compiled a list of over 50 coaches and schools that she would want to play for. She then began compiling videos of her best plays from her games and creating highlight videos she could send to these coaches.

It took hours of preparation before and after games to make sure that she was putting her best version of herself out there for the coaches to see.

Kesler's cousin, Ellie Walbruch, and Walbruch's family, helped her through the process of talking to schools and knowing what to expect from different coaches. Walbruch, who is a few years older than Kesler, had already gone through the recruiting process, so she was someone Kesler could rely on to have the answers.

Then it was decision time.

Kesler had offers from all over the country, but when she sat down with coach Jen Rockwood, she knew that BYU was right where she needed to be.

"There was not another thought in my mind to be like I need to think about this. I was like, yes, right on the spot," she said.

Kesler graduated from high school early to join Rockwood's team. She was joined by Walbruch, who had decided to transfer to BYU from UCLA, where she was originally attending.

The family chemistry was evident between them both on and off the field. Both Kesler and Walbruch were important starters for the team this year and combined for many great moments. Each earned All-American honors at the end of the season.

"They are really good friends and very connected," said Rockwood. "They are able to push each other, and that adds to a great combination."

Kesler's season took an exciting turn near the end of the year when she was selected to go to the USWNT U-20 training camp to be part of the pool of players being looked at for the 2026 Poland U-20 World Cup. She was the only player from the Big 12 selected for this camp.

At the camp, she focused not only on how she could improve as a player, but what things she could bring back to help her team at BYU.

"I can take what I learned there and apply it to college," she said, "I came back with this new knowledge and a little higher soccer IQ."

As Kesler progressed as a player, she wanted to find a way to give back to the soccer community. She remembered back to her high school days and how daunting the idea of recruiting was, and how there were so many questions and not enough answers.

With the help of her mom and aunt, Kesler has created a mentorship program for young girls to help them with their goals both on and off the field.

Her mom described it as "a program for high school athletes where she got to connect with them weekly for months."

Some of the girls that she mentored were even able to meet up with her at camps or attend some of the BYU women's soccer games this season.

Kelsey coached girls through the stresses of making their high school soccer teams, starting with the recruiting process, and helping them with techniques to use to become more mentally tough while being an athlete.

A negative experience with a coach early on in her soccer journey stuck with Kesler as a reminder of why positive role models and coaches are so important in young athletes' lives.

After getting moved up to a higher level team, Kesler had a coach who would consistently tell her that she would never be good enough and find any moment to criticize what she was doing. The words of the coach got to Lucy and she started to believe that she was not a good player.

"I would come home from most practices crying," she said, "I started to lose my love for the game."

With the unwavering support of her parents Kelser learned to tune out the comments from this coach and find confidence in her abilities. She decided she would not let the negative comments of someone else drag her down.

She was able to turn this roadblock into a big life lesson as she grew into a better and more confident player. As her career progressed, Kesler often looked back to this experience as a reminder that other people do not get to decide what your life story will look like. She learned that her self confidence and belief could carry her through the tough moments of her career.

Kesler also loves to inspire athletes on her social media pages, where she creates content about the life of a college student athlete and being at BYU. Her pages are filled with positive messages and fun videos about what things happen in her day-to-day life.

She also has a great love for her team and the university that she gets to represent on the field.

"Being a member of (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints), I feel so lucky to go to a school that is centred around my beliefs and religion," Kesler said. "We know that we represent something bigger when we step onto the field and wear Brigham Young across our jersey."

Kesler brings a unique light and humor to this BYU women's soccer team. Her coach says that she's "always doing something pretty funny," but never forgets to work hard.

Next season Kesler will be a junior and a leader on a Cougar team that has their eye on bringing a national championship back home to Provo.