A change in focus

With a new vision, the career of a former Post Falls High soccer player has continued Eisenwinter Field on the campus of North Idaho College.

Charlie Marie Evans, a sophomore center back for the Cardinals, took a different path from high school to the junior college level.

Evans left Post Falls High midway through her senior season and transferred to New Vision High School, an alternative school in Post Falls.

"I didn't like it at Post Falls," Evans said. "There was always drama in school and classes - whether it was on the soccer team or people overreacting about a coaching decision. I could only stand it for so long."

At New Vision, Evans found a laid-back setting to continue her schooling.

"Everything was way more relaxing," said Evans, adding there were between 10-15 students in a class at New Vision. "You wouldn't call your teachers by their first names. Classes were a lot smaller and there was more one-on-one time instead of having 25 kids in a class at once. The teachers there seemed to respect students more and be willing to help a lot more."

North Idaho College coach Dan Hogan coached Evans at the club soccer level, forming the bond that brought her to NIC.

"She was just having some difficulties focusing in school," Hogan said. "It's not that she was a bad kid - she just needed a change in a traditional sense. She was having a hard time focusing on school, so she made a change and it's worked out well for her."

Evans has started every match since joining the NIC program in 2009. The Cardinals were ranked 14th in the NJCAA polls earlier this year before falling out of the latest poll. NIC is currently 6-2-1.

"On the field, she's probably the steadiest back we've had," Hogan said. "This season, she may have been beaten on defense four times. And that's against some D-I teams like Boise State in a scrimmage."

Evans attributes her defensive prowess to playing sports with her cousins and her older brother, Ashley Evans, who played soccer at Post Falls and then at NIC in the 2006 season.

"All my guy cousins always would pick on me," Charlie Evans said. "They were always bigger than me and would always make it tough for me to do anything when it came to playing sports with them."

Another reason for her toughness was playing another contact sport as a kid.

"I used to play club hockey with my cousins," Evans said. "My entire family is in the logging industry, so it kind of made me a tougher person."

Evans came to NIC thanks in large part to her prior coaching relationship with Hogan.

"It was really close to home for me," Evans said. "It's convenient. I love having Dan as a coach and Becky (Thompson) as an assistant last year. Dan is a very calm coach. He is direct and to the point and expects a lot out of you.

Thompson left the NIC program after last season to coach at Post Falls High, her alma mater.

Evans plans to finish her Associate of Arts degree in general studies in the spring.

"I've got no idea what I want to do yet," said Evans of next year. "I'd like to go to a four-year school. But it could be anywhere."

The transition from New Vision to NIC classroom has also been a smooth one thus far.

"I like it a lot better than high school," Evans said. "My teachers seem to help more. It's really nice here."

Evans added that schools like Oregon State and Montana State-Billings are appealing because of familiar faces.

"Bailey Hewitt and Shannon Fraser are both friends of mine that go to Oregon State," Evans said. "Bailey plays on the soccer team there and I'd like to play again. There's also a few players on Montana State-Billings from Coeur d'Alene."

Hewitt, who played soccer at Sandpoint High and graduated from Clark Fork High, is redshirting this season for Oregon State.

Wherever she goes, Hogan believes that Evans can be successful.

"She's been steady for us," Hogan said. "She has been an anchor on the back line and has started every game for us in the two years she's been here. I got the chance to coach her at the club level. She sees the game real easily and has a natural instinct for the game."

That instinct is also something that Hogan feels has made her a strong player.

"Charlie is a visual learner," Hogan said. "You've got to teach some people in different ways. We can put her in any situation and she'll learn right away from it."

And with her mind free and clear of any drama, the learning won't stop, no matter what classroom she's in.