WOODBURY — When playing sports as a Chief, there’s a massive amount of work, and little time for rest. So how does Rosie Makarewicz manage it all?

Makarewicz, Nonnewaug’s star freshman soccer player, is doing it all. On the field, court and in the classroom, she is always trying her hardest to be the best. She overcomes the pressure of Penalty kicks, the challenge of starting a new sport, and an injury.

Early Days

“I think I’ve been playing soccer for about nine years now,” said Makarewicz. “I started when I was 5, and I just never stopped.”

From the second she stepped on the field, Makarewicz knew that this was her passion.

“When I first started playing, I knew this sport was going to be my life,” Makarewicz said.

Playing on as many teams as she could, Makarewicz has always been doing as much as she can to be her best for her teams and herself.

“I’ve done a lot,” says Makarewicz. “I have a premier team I play on. I do clinics and I always try to do my best at practice and work on the mistakes I make at games.”

Her dedication landed herself a starting spot on the Nonnewaug girls soccer team as a freshman.

“It was definitely a learning experience going from middle school soccer to high school soccer and playing girls three to four years older than you,” says Makarewicz, “but the season was a lot of fun.”

Nonnewaug boys soccer coach Toby Denman, who assisted with the girls team throughout the season, was impressed by Makarewicz’s work ethic when he first began coaching the girls team. 

¨I could tell from just having her around for however long I had been around that she was somebody I wanted to have in my program because the energy that she brings to practice. Stuff like that is infectious,” Denman said. “She also helps people understand where they should be on the field and what to expect from her.”

Nonnewaug girls soccer coach Adam Brutting was impressed by Makarewicz’s skills on the field.

“She is a talented player that does many things well on the soccer field,” says Brutting. “She has very strong foot skills and controls the ball well. She is physical and can keep players off the ball while controlling it, and she often takes players off the ball when they have it. She sees the game well also and distributes the ball where it needs to be on a regular basis. This is all possible based on the work she puts in at practice, and if I had to guess, I’d bet there is plenty of work on her own as well.”

Working Under Pressure

Makarewicz excelled in the big moments, too.

“In the semifinals of the BL tournament when we went to PKs after overtime, Rosie hammered her PK into the top right corner,” said Brutting. “It was unsavable.”

In these semifinals, the Chiefs beat Housatonic, the top seed and one team they couldn’t beat all season. Makarewicz was chosen to be one of Nonnewaug’s five shooters in the penalty kicks to break a tie. As a freshman, Makarewicz fought the pressure that PKs bring and made her shot.

It turned out to be a preview of the state quarterfinals. When playing in the Class M state quarterfinals against New Fairfield, Makarewicz was again chosen to be one of Nonnewaug’s PK shooters in the to break the 1-1 tie. All four of Nonnewaug’s shooters made their shot, and the last shooter didn’t even have to shoot.

“In the third round of states, the team went to PKs again,” Brutting said. “And again, under an incredible amount of pressure, what did Rosie do? Hammered her PK into the top right corner. Unsavable again.”

Navigating the Court

Despite the fact that she’s never played before, Makarewicz decided to start a basketball career this year. Even while playing on a soccer team for Ginga, she still manages to fit the Nonnewaug basketball team into her schedule. 

“I really don’t know what I’m doing, but it’s going to be a lot of fun,” said Makarewicz.

Along with working hard on the court, she’s also built new relationships on the team, like with sophomore Elliana Obolewicz.

“For me, she has become one of my best friends, and especially during the summer league and captains’ practices, we really got to bond and work together,” says Obolewicz. “We do everything together now and we support each other and we just work really hard together.

Managing It All

Managing sports and challenging academic classes can be hard, but Makarewicz works to get it all done. In all honors classes and in the agriscience program, she has difficult classes with lots of work.

“I try to get my work done in study halls and on the way to practices, and sometimes I have time after practices,” said Makarewicz.

Along with schoolwork, she also had problems with her knee during the soccer season. At the beginning of the season, she dislocated her knee, and it continued to bother her all throughout the season. Even with her knee problems, Makarewicz pushed through the pain and played her best each game. 

“Seeing the knee brace, I can tell sometimes she’s in discomfort,” Brutting said, “but she pushes herself through the uncomfortable situations and manages to play for whole games.”