By Thomas Edmundson, Managing Editor
Senior Brady Buchanan planned on trying out for varsity goalie of the Reynolds High School soccer team as a freshman.
He attended all of the summer workouts, but he was out of town during tryouts and was not guaranteed a spot on the team. He was placed on junior varsity and became that group’s starting goalkeeper, but Buchanan impressed the coaches so much within the first four games of the season that he was moved up to varsity. He has started every game since.
Buchanan began playing soccer at the age of 4. Like many kids, Buchanan grew up playing multiple sports. Despite this, he ascended through the ranks of youth soccer, moving from Optimist to Twin City Challenge and Classic and then to the high school level. Once Buchanan achieved a constant starting role on the varsity team, he planned on playing at a higher club level to improve his skills.
In the spring of his sophomore year, Buchanan was given the opportunity to play for a club team in Jamestown that was ranked seventh in the state in his age group. Buchanan had played basketball for Reynolds in his freshman year, but the Jamestown team required more commitment and he could not choose to play both.
“I enjoyed basketball,” Buchanan said, “but I showed a lot more potential in soccer, so I gave it up to play in Jamestown.”
Buchanan’s stint at the Jamestown club paid off. During his freshman and sophomore years combined, he had 204 saves for Reynolds. In his junior year, he beat the total with 205 saves in one season. Two great games against West Forsyth last season helped contribute to his high save count.
“My favorite moments were beating West (Forsyth) both times last year,” Buchanan said. “I had 21 and 18 saves in those games.”
Big games such as those helped the Demons win the Central Piedmont 4-A Conference championship.
“Brady is a reliable goalie that can stop shots, but also take care of his box,” Demons coach Adam Gal said. “The rest of the team takes strength knowing they’ve got someone behind them that they can count on.”
Buchanan was voted one of the team captains this year and he has a positive outlook for his senior season. “We have a good team with lots of potential,” he said. “We finished second in the Forsyth Cup and we’ve got a good chance to do really well this season.”
Senior Parker Smith, a teammate of Buchanan’s for the last four years, said, “He brings leadership and tons of experience, and we can trust that he’ll make the right play when we need him to.”
Buchanan has also taken on a new sport this year. He is the starting placekicker on the varsity football team.
“I have always thought of kicking,” Buchanan said, “and now that they didn’t have (a kicker), I stepped up and I’m really enjoying it.”
Buchanan is not only a two-sport athlete, but a member of the a cappella group at Reynolds and president of the Key Club.