Denali Sexton
Denali Sexton
Position: Left Wing (sometimes Center Midfield)
Favorite Club: Manchester United
Denali’s soccer journey has been all but conventional, but his love for the game comes through within seconds of conversing with him. I had the pleasure of speaking to Denali over the phone this past week and was blown away by his thoughtfulness, the tight familial connections that have shaped his decisions throughout college and beyond, and, perhaps most of all, his determination to rediscover soccer’s place in his life.
Denali’s soccer exposure was aided by a year-long sojourn in England as a child as his father, an educator, spent time working overseas. It was here that Denali could cram into old English grounds, feel the pulsating energy surrounding the game from all sides, and, ultimately, catapult his own soccer career.
High school in Rhode Island challenged Denali both personally and athletically as, time and time again, he found himself on the fringes of a state-championship-winning side. This is not to say that Denali couldn’t compete at the highest level; far from it, Denali impressed in key moments when given the chance, stepping in and scoring crucial goals in his Junior season’s conference tournament. Instead, Denali was left a diamond in the rough, underutilized by a relatively unsympathetic coach. Through such adversity, Denali was surrounded by some much needed positivity from two corners, namely his parents and his assistant coach, offering encouragement and, as college rolled around, reminding Denali of his obvious ability.
Accepted to Colby Sawyer college (as he wanted to spend time in New Hampshire, having spent long summers there while his dad looked after a whole summer camp’s worth of kids), Denali was pushed, especially by his father, to try out for the soccer team. Despite the difficulties of his earlier Varsity years, Denali slowly built a contact with Colby Sawyer’s coach and ultimately left summer camp a week earlier to train with the program. Although he had been grossly underutilized throughout high school, Denali would now get the chance to shine on one of the nation’s larger stages. Taking a chance on his recruitment, it became clear to Colby Sawyer’s coach that Denali would be something special: he would be one of the best players in the division and, already by freshman spring, a captain of the team.
In highlighting Denali it would be easy to focus on his achievements of which there are many: Denali is Colby Sawyer’s all-time leader in goals, assists, and points; was freshman of the year for his conference; and, ultimately, player of the conference for two consecutive years. While these are more than impressive, in speaking to Denali, what really came through to me was his re-discovered love of the beautiful game, his thankfulness for the community that got him there, and his constant itch to be out on the field while performing at the highest level.
Written by: Colin Olson