BILLINGS — There are few things Reagan Soucy looks more forward to than a nap.
To the Billings West senior, catching 40 winks before one of her soccer or basketball games is a must. No questions asked, no diverging from the plan.
Hear from Soucy on why naps — and grades — are crucial to her success:
If Soucy has, say, a 3 p.m. kickoff for a mid-week soccer match, the honors student rushes to get her school requirements done so she can get home and catch a quick 40-minute slumber before game-time.
Otherwise, her play would be somnolent.
“I've tried energy drinks, I’ve tried all that,” Soucy said following a recent soccer practice. “It doesn’t work for me. But the nap? it just rejuvenates me.”
Whether it’s the restorative nature of her midday sleep or something else entirely, it’s hard to argue with Soucy’s results.
She’s been one of the most prolific Class AA goal-scorers the past couple of seasons, netting a team-high 17 goals last year. That followed a 14-goal effort as a sophomore.
Soucy’s 41-and-counting career goals are just two behind Mary Speare’s 43 goals from 2020-23 as among the best at the school during coach Rob Zimmerman’s now eight seasons at the helm. (Danielle Muri sent home 83 goals from 2007-10 to set the West program record.)
“Reagan's a dynamic player,” Zimmerman said. “I mean, she plays with a lot of emotion, a lot of heart. She plays up top, and she's dangerous all over the field.”
Last season, Soucy combined with Adriana Davey and Jayda Lantz to form a dangerous trio for the Golden Bears. Davey and Lantz scored 10 goals each, but Lantz tore an ACL during club season and will miss the high school season.
“They understand each other, they know where each other is going to be,” Zimmerman said of the three players. “They just feed off of each other. And, you know, I think we've got some girls that are going to step in this year and fill some roles for Jayla’s injury. I don’t see a letdown in our goal-scoring this year.”
Zimmerman may have the answers for the Golden Bears’ questions, but Soucy has question marks ahead for her.
Is playing college soccer her future, or are her prospects better in basketball? She has college offers for both sports. Last season she averaged 12.1 points per game in a season that ended in a 66-63 overtime loss to Bozeman Gallatin in the state title game.
Soucy once dreamed of finding a college program that would allow her to play both. Her 4.65 weighted GPA suggests she could probably get into a school of her choice, but Soucy acknowledges that playing two sports while pursuing a biomedical engineering degree might be a bit much.
Her busy schedule — open fields for soccer, open gyms for basketball, skill sessions for both sports, weight training — usually means some late nights studying to keep up with her advanced-placement classes.
As much as sports mean to her, Soucy knows there can’t be any slacking off when it comes to her academics. For more than one reason, she joked.
“My mom’s a (school) principal,” she said. “She knows if I get a bad grade on a test before I do, she knows if I have a missing assignment before I do. And so, I’ve really got to stay on top of that stuff.”
Helping get her soccer and basketball teams to the top is Soucy’s focus now. She swung between junior and varsity in her freshman year of basketball in 2022-23 when the Bears won the state basketball title. Since then, it’s been a series of near misses for both the soccer and basketball teams.
“I think she’s enjoying her time in high school and doing her two sports, and she's excited about what's the future to come,” Zimmerman said. “She has high expectations. I think she wants to win the state championship, both soccer and basketball this year. Those are standards that she set, tries to bring to both programs with her work ethic and attitude.”
It never hurts to dream big. That’s also a benefit of a good nap.
