Lady Tigers' Diaz makes fast transition

BENTONVILLE -- Some players on Bentonville's girls soccer team get an advantage by playing youth soccer under coach Kristina Henry, while others have four years to learn and grow into the program.

That wasn't the case for Gia Diaz, who didn't join the team until she moved to Bentonville from a smaller school in Minnesota just before her junior year. She's had to adjust to the system much quicker, but she's become a valuable asset to the Lady Tigers over the last two years.

Profile

Gia Diaz

School: Bentonville

Class: Senior

Height: 5-6

Notable: A transfer to Bentonville from Minnesota before her junior season. … Played a number of positions before settling as a midfielder. … Has three goals and 15 assists this season … Plans to be a walk-on at Georgia in the fall.

"It was definitely different with my style of play," the senior midfielder said. "I had the same coach in high school at Minnesota who taught me when I was little. It was a little setback because other players had connections with coach Kris since they were little.

"But they were very welcoming to me when I came in. They treated me like I had been with them since the beginning. At first it was hard not knowing anybody, but after a while it felt like I had here my whole life."

Diaz wasn't the only person with the adjustments to make. Henry spent much of last season trying to find the right position for her newcomer and moved Diaz around in hopes of finding the best fit for her and the team.

Diaz started out the season on the back line as a defender, then she was moved to the center midfielder spot. She did the same thing this year, starting out on the back line and going back to the midfield group.

"It was challenging at first," Henry said. "By not seeing her play prior to joining us, we didn't know what the best fit for her. I had her in a lot of positions before settling on that midfielder group.

"She brings a ton of skills to the game. I love the way she is so tenacious with the ball. She wants to go forward and so attack-minded that I had to figure out how to capitalize on her wanting to do that. This year, she filled a need in the defensive midfield role, and she gives us a different look."

That look is the aggressive play Diaz continually shows when she's on the field. What she provides to the team doesn't always show up in the statistics as she finished the regular season with three goals and 15 assists.

Henry, though, noted her play during Tuesday's match at Springdale Har-Ber, when she had a number of tackles and took the ball away from players when necessary.

"I like to keep the ball and keep things simple," Diaz said. "I watched soccer a lot as a kid because my family is Hispanic, so you learn keep away. It's a simple game, and that's my style of play. I like the style of play here.

"It bugs me more than it should when I don't get the ball and gets on my nerves. I don't want to be a dirty player, but if the ball is close, I'm going to do everything I can to get the ball. Sometimes I get too aggressive when it gets stressful and everybody is yelling, but the girls do a good job of calming each other down."

Sports on 05/10/2015

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