Presnick is special

INVERNESS -- She played at a different speed.

If you watched her on the soccer field, you knew she wasn't just another player.

She dribbled effortlessly with either foot, was tenacious on defense, hustled for 80 minutes, played hurt and always seemed to be three steps ahead of everybody else. Everything went through her -- always.

Citrus' Amber Presnick was that good.

"She can play anywhere and compete with anybody," former Citrus girls soccer coach Brady Bogart said earlier this year. "She's definitely a Division I player."

He was right.

Presnick, who up until last week was a Citrus senior, has finished high school. She will move to Gainesville and into her dorm at the University of Florida on Jan. 2. Classes begin four days later, and at that time Presnick officially becomes a Gator, fulfilling a lifelong dream.

"I've always wanted to go there," Presnick said.

She belongs -- no question about it.

During Presnick's three soccer seasons with the Hurricanes, she earned Times All-Citrus/Hernando Player of the Year honors three times. The midfielder had 24 goals and 16 assists as a junior, increasing her career totals to 66 goals and 43 assists.

With Presnick in the lineup, Citrus went 60-7-6 and claimed two district titles. The season the Hurricanes didn't win a championship, they finished second.

Presnick did her damage despite being the focus of every opposing defense.

"Her ball-handling skills were just phenomenal," Bogart said. "She could make a lot of boys teams around here look good."

Presnick also shined in cross country (she was 12th at state as a ninth-grader), track (she reached state twice in the 400 meters) and softball (she earned one letter at Citrus and was on the Inverness All-Stars squad that reached the Senior Softball World Series in Kalamazoo, Mich., in 2000).

"She's just one of those extraordinary athletes who could excel at anything, including ping pong," Bogart said.

Presnick decided against playing sports this fall.

"It was good to hang out with my friends before I left," Presnick said.

"I went to a few (soccer) games. I wanted to be out there helping them. It was kind of frustrating, but I think I made the right decision."

Presnick's main concern in college: class. She had a 3.5 GPA at Citrus and plans to major in elementary education.

"I'm a little more worried about classes than soccer," Presnick said. "I'm more comfortable on the field than with my grades. It's a lot of hard work to do both."

Presnick has been told by coaches she will play defender or midfielder at Florida, where her brother, Cory, runs cross country and track. Conditioning starts the week she arrives.

"I'm in pretty bad shape right now," Presnick said. "I just started running again. I should be fine by the time I get there.

"I'm going to have to make all new friends. I'm going to be just another player, at least for a while."

To those around here, Presnick never will be just another player.

Keith Niebuhr can be reached at 860-7337 or niebuhr@sptimes.com .

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