Grace Busby sets the tone for women’s soccer

Josh Cortez

October 1, 2016

Faces of Palomar: “Each game is a new challenge. You’ll never face the same exact thing again so you always have to look at and obstacle and figure out a way around it. You can’t just ignore it.” (Brandy Sebastian/The Telescope)

Palomar forward Grace Busby (#22) charges her way through two defenders. Palomar was defeated 0-3 by Mt. San Jacinto College on Sept 23, 2016. Bruce Woodward/The Telescope

A Palomar women’s soccer forward puts in hard work in an effort to set an example for the rest of her team.

Grace Busby, 20, studies nursing in her second year at Palomar, but when she’s not studying, she’s captain of the women’s soccer team.

Her journey began about 11 years ago after her family moved to south.

“I actually started playing when I was super little and I hated it, so I quit for a little bit,” said Busby. “But then we moved out to San Diego from Newport Beach, Calif. and it was just a sport that my parents wanted me to play so I started playing and I ended up being really good so I kept playing.”

Busby played her final two years of high school on the women’s varsity soccer team after playing only her sophomore year on the varsity team for Torrey Pines High School.

Busby scored 15 goals as a freshmen for Palomar in 2015, which earned her the Southern California Player Of The Year award.

She has plans to further produce for the 2016 season, “This year I want to lead the league in goals. My goal is to score at least two goals a game,” said Busby.

Palomar's Grace Busby (Number 22) on her way to score the third goal of the game against Southwestern on Sept. 16. -Kayla Rambo/The Telescope — Palomar’s Grace Busby (Number 22) on her way to score the third goal of the game against Southwestern on Sept. 16. -Kayla Rambo/The Telescope

Busby says she believes that as a captain she contributes more to the team than just scoring.

“I’m the captain but I also feel like I set the tone,” said Busby. “If I’m giving it my all and I’m pushing it, then everyone starts to pick it up. But if I’m not working too hard, then nobody else does.”

Although Busby says the women’s team is short on players, she expects that everyone works as hard as they can during each game. As a captain she holds herself to those very same expectations.

“If I play a game and I still feel like I could run, then I didn’t push myself hard enough. So I just expect to push myself to the limit every game,” said Busby.

Palomar's Grace Busby (Number 22) scores a hat trick in the game against Southwestern on Sept. 16. -Kayla Rambo/The Telescope — Palomar’s Grace Busby (Number 22) scores a hat trick in the game against Southwestern on Sept. 16. -Kayla Rambo/The Telescope

It’s this very attitude that Busby will likely use as she will look to lead the women’s soccer team this season. The women’s team currently sits at 1-5, losing their last game to Mt. San Jacinto 3-0.

Busby is no. 29 in the state for goals and continues to contribute to her team in every game she plays.

You can see Busby and the rest of the Palomar women’s team play on Tuesday Oct. 11, at 3:15 p.m. on Minkoff Field at Palomar.

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