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SUMMER WORKOUT
Top girls’ soccer players use the break to sharpen their games and up their fitness
Hingham High’s Kira Maguire is focused on conditioning as she approaches her senior season. (PHOTOS BY DEBEE TLUMACKI FOR THE BOSTON GLOBE )
By Joe Rice
Globe Correspondent

Preparing for her final season on the girls’ soccer team at Hingham High, 17-year-old Kira Maguire is focused on continuing to elevate her game.

Her lengthy first club season with Under 18 FC Boston Scorpions of the Elite Clubs National League is now over after a recent run to the national tournament in Seattle. The Scorpions’ season ended June 23 with a 1-0 loss to Ohio Premier.

So her attention is on conditioning, both on her own and in Thursday training sessions with her teammates at Hingham High, where she will be a senior captain.

The team went 17-2-1 last fall in its first year in Division 1 after winning three consecutive Division 2 titles. Maguire, a Globe All-Scholastic forward, notched 24 goals and 12 assists.

“During the summer, I don’t usually play as much soccer,’’ she said. “I try to focus on my physical fitness and smaller skills because I play so much in the spring and during the fall with my high school team.’’

Still, the University of Virginia commit is the one leading those Thursday training sessions, and says she’s intent on being a good role model and team leader.

“On the weekends,’’ she said of her summer regimen, “I spend time at Athletic Performance Training’’ in Falmouth, a program that gears training to the sports athletes play. Participants can be as young as 9.

But Maguire said she also does some soccer-specific training with Tracey Bates Leone, the former Northeastern University coach who now teaches private sessions.

One of Maguire’s recent FC Boston teammates was Emma Tucker of Marshfield, a rising senior midfielder at Notre Dame Academy in Hingham. The 17-year-old also maintains a rigorous training schedule as she prepares for Division 1 soccer at the University of Miami.

Tucker’s schedule consists of playing two games a week and three days of training.

“In terms of preparedness,’’ she said, “I want to be both mentally and physically fit. My club team is extremely competitive for me, and it helps me to be prepared as a player heading into the fall season.’’

Last fall as a junior, Audrey Lavey led Newton South (20-2) to its first Division 1 South final, netting a school-record 28 goals. Another returning Globe All-Scholastic, the 17-year-old was back at work in the offseason playing for Global Premier Soccer in the National Premier League. In six games, she scored seven of her team’s 12 goals.

Lavey has verbally committed to Wesleyan University, giving her extra motivation to sharpen her skills.

“I want to begin improving as a player over time so that I am up to speed,’’ said Lavey. “The spring and summer seasons are best for showcasing, simply because club games provide a better environment for players to play at their highest level.’’

Brookline senior goalie Katherine McElroy, also 17, the Globe’s reigning Division 1 Player of the Year, takes advantage of her break from school to play up to five times per week.

“My summer usually consists of a couple goalkeeping camps,’’ said McElroy, “including one I just did from [July] 9th to the 11th at Roger Williams University run by one of my goalkeeper coaches at Stars . . . Matt Davison.’’

A University of Michigan recruit, McElroy plays club for the FC Stars of Massachusetts’ Under 18/19 Elite Clubs National League East team. Last season, with McElroy yielding 0.252 goals per game, the FC Stars finished 18-2-4. She did not allow a goal in conference play.

McElroy also keeps fit while going to the gym to participate in two-hour sessions with her Brookline teammates.

Kristi Vierra, a rising 16-year-old junior at Norwell High, is still in the heat of her club season. Vierra has been a center midfielder for the South Shore Select Under 17 AP squad in the National Premier Leagues for three seasons.

Fresh off back-to-back wins in the State Cup June 3 and the NPL national championship July 16, South Shore is seeking to repeat as National Cup champions in Colorado.

“The training for club soccer in the summer allows me to continue to improve my skills, fitness, and technique in the high school off-season,’’ Vierra said.

Vierra says sometimes it can be tough to play because of fatigue, but motivation from outside sources help her get through it.

“My dad, mom, my sisters who both played [Division 1] college sports, or my coach, motivate me to practice even on the days when I don’t feel like it,’’ said Vierra, who has verbally committed to Wake Forest.

Natick High senior-to-be Alex Campana, 17, is fully on board for the fall season.

A member of the Under 17 FC Stars, the future Marquette University midfielder trains twice a week while also hosting team workouts with her Natick High teammates.

“We are all in it together and working towards a common goal for the season,’’ said Campana. “Which is to be the best we can be when game time comes.’’

Joe Rice can be reached at joseph.rice@globe.com.