Newcomer Childers Leads LA To District Final After 6-Goal Performance

by Rusty Ellis

The Livingston Academy Lady Wildcats have been as well-oiled a machine as any athletic program in the Upper Cumberland this season, as their now 15-1 record shows.

With the lone blemish being against a good Cookeville team in a classification above them, and it only a 2-1 loss at that, 2022 has all the makings of another excellent season under head coach David Sadler at Livingston.

“This is a fun group of girls to coach,” Sadler said. “We’re blessed with a lot of talent from our feeder programs, and this group of assistant coaches is phenomenal…they’re a fun group to watch and a fun team to coach for sure.”

One of the breakout stars of fall sports around the area has been sophomore Taryn Childers, a name many in the Upper Cumberland should put to memory. Childers scored six goals on Tuesday to lead the Lady Wildcats to a 9-2 victory over DeKalb County in the District 6AA Semifinals, giving her a team-high 39 goals on the season.

Some may look at that stat-line and assume that Childers was only looking for her shot, but as Sadler will tell you, that simply isn’t the case.

“Taryn had an excellent game last night, and sometimes when you see that line, you might think she’s selfish, but she absolutely isn’t,” Sadler said. “When she was taking shots, they happened to just be great shots, but she also looked for every opportunity to dish the ball to her teammates and get them involved. Things just happened to fall her way.”

Six goals is an eye-catching line that many players might not put together their entire career, but as the goal totals suggest, Childers has put together big game after big game this season.

That includes when she was named the Player of the Week by the Tennessean after two multi-goal performances against Stone Memorial and Upperman in September. When asked what it is about Childers that’s made her successful, Sadler says it’s about the competition she’s seen earlier in her career and the work ethic she’s developed due to that competition.

“She moved in here last year from California, and she’s been putting in work,” Sadler said. “It’s different out there, they have year-round soccer and take it a little bit more serious than we do…she’s spent all of her life trying to get better and improve her craft. She’s fallen into a leadership role for us.”

And that role became even more important when senior Lilly Copeland was injured before the season. That meant Childers was one of many Lady Wildcats, along with Ella Copeland, Tara Hinds and Emma Dulworth to name a few, that had to step their game up in the senior’s absence.

Despite the wins, it wasn’t as seamless a fit as it appeared, but once everyone got used to their new roles, players like Childers quickly began to find success.

“Everyone had to start working together, and some girls were in spots they weren’t used to being in,” Sadler said. “Taryn was one of them, and Lilly’s sister Ella was another, and at first it was uncomfortable…after that, they started gelling together and they’ve had a good season up to this point.”

The scary part about Childers is that she’s only a sophomore with, as Sadler puts it, a load of potential to still grow and develop her game even further.

The expectations are always high for Lady Wildcat soccer and Childers answered the call to action the moment she was needed. Though the season isn’t over yet, Sadler says things are just getting started for his new star in Overton County.

“We always set the bar high, no doubt about it,” Sadler said. “It almost looks like Taryn is a one-man show, but it’s not like that at all. These girls rally around her and get the ball to her, and she does the same for them…we are definitely looking forward to next year and beyond for her.”