Passing Grades Home-Schooled Barnes Gives Hawks’ Opponents Education On Soccer Field

After a typical day of classes at Lakeland High School, students on the girls soccer team travel across the street to the soccer field for practice.

All but one, that is.

Cara Barnes arrives after attending school at home.

The 16-year-old Barnes, a junior, has been home-schooled for the past three years since leaving the public school system after the eighth grade.

“I do all the regular credits and I have regular textbooks,” said Barnes, who is playing her third year as striker for the Hawks. “It’s kind of like going to a private school. I have to take electives just like everybody else.”

Barnes is enrolled in American School out of Illinois. Her studies are conducted through the mail. The program permits her to earn a diploma within a span of five years instead of the traditional four, allowing two days out of the normal five-day school week for a part-time job.

“(Home schooling) lets me have more of a life than just 9-to-5 school,” explained Barnes, who trains horses between lessons and works at Spirit Lake Green Houses delivering tomatoes. “I get a lot more done at home the three days I do it than I ever did at school in five days. It also gives me lots of different kinds of experience.”

Because Barnes produced good grades and met the standards of the public school system, she was allowed to join the Hawks’ team after Lakeland developed a program three years ago.

Last year, Barnes ended the season as top scorer for the Hawks with eight goals. She leads the team with 10 this fall.

“Cara’s one of the fastest girls we have,” said Lakeland coach Mario Maddy. “She’s been working on her shots for the past two years and she’s developed some deadly ones. Once she gets into position, she’s able to put it away. She’s an extremely competitive person.”

Barnes’ interest in soccer isn’t something new. It dates to her childhood where she learned a more aggressive style of playing the sport.

“I used to play with my brothers all the time,” she said. “We would go down to the beach and have big rivalries, knocking each other down in the process and having a lot of fun. I’ve figured out that soccer’s not all as physical as my brothers were,” Barnes added with a grin.

Even though Barnes doesn’t attend Lakeland, she is a true Hawk when on the soccer field, Maddy said.

“I don’t see any difference between her and the other players,” Maddy said. “Cara’s right in there with the other girls and she’s like any other high school girl I’ve ever seen.”

But high school is the missing link between Barnes and her teammates.

“With soccer, I’m kind of a loner,” she said. “I’m friends with pretty much everybody, but I’m really not in on the school thing. I’m in my own little world when they’re talking about everything that’s been happening there. But I don’t mind.”

With one more year of soccer ahead of her and two more years until obtaining her diploma, Barnes is unsure about her future. She plans on attending North Idaho College and would like to play in college.

Said Maddy: “If her goal is to do that, I see the potential there, due to the fact that she has all the basic skills that she needs. She definitely has the drive and the God-given talent to compete at that level.”

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