Another great article on Mac Midgley and Sammi Woods.
Childhood friends reunite on rebuilding UT soccer squad
Monday, September 30, 2024, Vol. 48, No. 39
By Rhiannon Potkey
Midgley and Woods played soccer together in Michigan before getting back together at UT.
-- Tennessee Athletics/Utsports.Com
The six teammates from the Michigan Hawks club soccer program in Livonia, Michigan, didn’t want their relationships to end once they all departed for college. They turned to modern technology to keep their bond strong over the last five years.
The group used Snapchat to vlog about their daily experiences at the University of Tennessee, Bowling Green University, the University of Miami, Indiana University and the University of Michigan. The short videos made them feel like they were still an integral part of each others lives.
UT junior midfielder Mac Midgley and best friend Sammi Woods were a part of the group chat. They supplemented the vlogs with private conversations between each other every day. Once Woods graduated from Michigan and entered the transfer portal to use her extra year of eligibility granted because of the COVID pandemic, Midgley encouraged her to consider UT.
Woods began talking to UT coaches and researching her educational options. After she saw UT offered an advanced degree in sport psychology and motor behavior specialization, Woods was sold.
“School is the No. 1 priority, and UT had the degree I wanted,” Woods says. “But obviously catching up and staying in touch with Mac all those years through our group chats, I was able to see the ins and outs and how much she loved it here.
Mac Midgley, a junior, was recently named SEC Offensive Player of the Week.
-- Tennessee Athletics/Utsports.Com
“Once I visited the campus, it was kind of like a no-brainer. I committed the day after.”
Having Woods join the Lady Vols has been a dream for Midgley. The two had always discussed the idea of becoming teammates at a higher level, but never knew if it would be possible.
“It’s not every day you get to play with your childhood best friend again in college,” Midgley says. “It’s been so awesome. I absolutely love having her here. I couldn’t have asked for a better way for it to have worked out.”
Chemistry on, off the pitch
Midgley and Woods first met nearly a decade ago while playing for the Hawks. Midgley was younger but often played with the older group. Their relationship clicked from the very start.
“Obviously, we spent so much time together at soccer with all those hours and just got along super well off the field,” Woods says. “But then on the field, the soccer connection piece was insane. She would be midfield, I would play forward and I think our off-the-field relationship translated on the field super well.”
Woods has shifted to the midfield at UT (6-1-2, 1-0-1 SEC), but the dynamic between the two remains just as strong at the same position. Woods has scored a team-leading four goals, while Midgley has scored two. Both have recorded an assist.
Midgley wasn’t even sure if she would be healthy enough to start the season. She had surgery on her knee three weeks before the first game to “clean out a bunch of junk.” The knee was bugging her most of the summer, but the pain intensified while she was in South Africa with the VOLeaders program.
Sammi Woods was a third-team All-Big 10 selection last season at the University of Michigan.
-- Tennessee Athletics/Utsports.Com
She was able to recover in time to join Woods in the starting lineup for the opener. Her summer travels to South Africa, Botswana and Zimbabwe enhanced her appreciation for being back on the field.
“Playing with kids over there and connecting over soccer was something really unique. It opened my eyes to the fact I get to play soccer every single day, and I think I took that for granted,” Midgley says. “The highlight of those kids’ weeks was playing soccer, and seeing the smiles on their faces and the joy soccer brought them made me realize what I took for granted here at Tennessee.”
New faces, new habits
The relationship between Midgley and Woods is a microcosm of the Lady Vols as a whole. The team added 10 freshmen and several transfers to the roster this season. Having so many new faces required a greater focus on team bonding.
The Lady Vols read “The Five Dysfunctions of a Team” and held meetings throughout the summer. On off days, they gather at someone’s house to watch soccer or “The Bachelor” while baking cookies and eating dinner together.
“We want to accomplish a lot on the field this season, but we also want to accomplish a lot off the field,” Midgley says. “I think all of the things we are doing together have really helped set the tone on the field as well. It’s united us and we know we have each others backs.”
The group chat among the six former Michigan Hawks teammates is still thriving. Only now, instead of having to send separate videos from different states, Midgley and Woods can post joint vlogs about how things are going together at UT.
“I don’t think there has been a day that’s gone by in all this time where one of us hasn’t sent something,” Woods says. “It’s hard for us to all get on the phone with all of our different schedules, but this gives us a way to stay connected in our own time. It’s one of my biggest accomplishments. I hope we stay connected for life.”
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This was a an excellent response
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Champs
