Johnson County Community College assistant coach Jason Wichman believed he found a true talent when he discovered Manchester, England, native Flo Rigby.
Head coach Jim Schwab, on the other hand, was more hesitant to put all their eggs in one basket. Luckily, he didn’t let his concerns dictate the team’s decision to bring her in when she elected to transfer out of Meridian Community College in Mississippi.
“She’s been a pleasant surprise,” coach Schwab told The IX Sports.
Now, a few months later, the midfielder is absolutely dominating the NJCAA ranks, leading Division II with 70 points. In 19 starts for the Cavaliers, Rigby’s scored a whopping 28 goals from 78 shots on goal. She also recorded 14 assists as a midfielder.
The biggest achievement, though, is the fact that Rigby’s recorded five hat tricks. Two of those came in the last two games of the regular season. In one game on Oct. 14 against Pratt Community College, Rigby scored all three of her team’s goals in a 15-minute span.
It’s safe to say Rigby’s unstoppable on the pitch. But she’s humble about her accomplishments this season. Her goal at hand is to help put her team in the best position possible.
“I’ve had a good start to the season, along with the rest of the team,” Rigby said. “Right now, this is just the start and there’s more to come from me and the team as well.”
What’s stood out about Rigby the most amongst the rest is her “competitive spirit,” both coaches said. Rigby credits growing up with her older brother in Manchester for the reason she has this competitiveness within her.
Whenever she doesn’t perform the way she’s hoping to, it ends up fueling her for the next time she steps on the pitch. For example, on Oct. 10 against Kansas City Kansas Community College, the Cavaliers scored eight goals, but none of them were scored by Rigby. She had one assist, but that wasn’t enough for her.
“She had an assist, but she was pissed that she didn’t score,” Schwab said. “Coach Jason and myself gave her a little ‘Hey, we didn’t see you on the stat sheet that much.’ Then she comes back to us and says, ‘Coach, I should’ve had four or five assists.’ She should have. … The competitive nature of her is very welcoming and I wish it would be contagious on 22 other girls.”
Rigby isn’t all serious all the time. As a sophomore in college, there’s of course a silly side to her, too, and it was clear she could riff with her two coaches comfortably and easily. There’s mutual admiration amongst the three of them.
“She’s been an absolute dream,” coach Wichman said. “She knows when to turn off and on the competitive spirit. She comes into the office, she’s a total goofball, and then at the same time, when she laces up her cleats, she’s all business. She knows the most important part of the whole experience is to have fun.”
Rigby isn’t doing all of the work on the team, of course, so that competitive nature does seem to be wearing off on her teammates—at least Rigby thinks so.
“All the girls are very well bonded, and we all get along well as a team, which I think helps everybody play better,” Rigby said.
But when you win the Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference Division II Player of the Week three times in the season, and when you start racking up the hat tricks, other teams start keeping tabs on you. Rigby isn’t letting the extra attention from teams impact her play on the field too much, though.
“The word’s out, so everybody’s marking her, everybody’s trying to [stop her], but she handles herself well,” Schwab said.
Thanks in part to Rigby’s performances, the Cavaliers went undefeated in the KJCCC this season. The team will compete in the conference tournament starting on Oct. 29. But the focus is on the national NJCAA Division II tournament in November.
“We feel like we have the personnel to give us a great chance to compete deep into the tournament, if not win the whole thing,” Wichman said. “We know we have work to do to get better tactically and technically, and I think we’re starting to peak at the right time.”
Since JCCC is a community college, Rigby will be searching for her next home after the season ends. She hasn’t been focusing on where she’ll land next as she’s been trying to live in the moment and soak in the success she’s had with the Cavaliers. As Schwab said, she’s “making the most of this opportunity.”
Coach Schwab said the team’s already received plenty of calls from Division I and Division II teams interested in bringing her onto their rosters next season. He doesn’t want to distract Rigby with all of the talk, though, at least not until the postseason is over. He believes her playoff performance will help launch her name even further out there.
“She puts in work, she’s a two-way player,” Schwab said. “I think she’ll put a good show on at nationals, then the sky’s the limit for her and our team. No pressure to her.”
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Rigby doesn’t want to focus on the future, though. She sounds confident that she’ll land right where she’s supposed to.
“I just want to play at the highest level that’s possible for me,” Rigby said. “I’m not really thinking too much about the future right now, I’m just concentrating on right now. … Everything else will work itself out and come into place.”
But don’t fret. This won’t be the last we see or hear of Rigby. She clearly has a bright future ahead of her in soccer, and she’s prepared for it.
“I don’t think we’ve seen the best of her yet,” Schwab said. “I think some of these ladies get afraid of the sunlight, but I think she has suntan lotion and isn’t afraid of the spotlight.”
