This past November, Miami Palmetto Senior High added another senior college commitment to their track record. Senior and multi-sport athlete Sami Anes committed to the University of Central Florida Women’s Soccer team as a goalkeeper. Aside from her talents on the soccer field, Anes also plays basketball and flag football for MPSH.
Anes was recognized this past season by the Miami Herald for posting an impressive 10 points, 10 rebounds, 15 assists and 12 steals in MPSH’s 79-9 basketball win against Killian High School on Jan.12. Anes’ quadruple-double was the first in school history.
“I just wanted to have fun,” Anes said. “It was really a team effort, and I could not have gotten a quadruple double without [my teammates] … It really was the team that got that victory.”
Though an impressive basketball player, Anes is most known for her talents on the soccer field. Committed to a top 40 women’s soccer program, she has made MPSH history in more ways than one, leaving behind quite a legacy.
“[The team] showed me what family really was when I went [to UCF],” Anes said. “UCF has a real family, and I was dead set there as soon as I set foot on campus.”
Alongside basketball and soccer, another lesser-known sport of Anes’ talents is flag football. Anes averaged one catch for two years in eight games played in the 2022-23 season and was a huge contributor to the flag football team last year.
With three varsity sports under her belt, Anes has had a tough journey with challenges along the way. Although coaches come and go, one person has remained: her mother Heather. Anes notes the appreciation and support her mother has constantly given her through her years of sports.
“[My mom] always says that it’s okay to not succeed, but she’s there every time I do succeed,” Anes said. “She’s always there to say she’s proud of me, and that’s the most important thing for an athlete that struggles with their mental sometimes.”
