Riverview lacrosse player has double life as international ambassador

Have you ever talked with someone for the first time and just known they’re going to achieve big things?

It doesn’t happen often to me. But when I spoke with Zayda Fredericks, a rising junior at Pine View School and a lacrosse player at Riverview High, it was one of those rare occasions.

Fredericks was in South Africa when I originally inquired, on a student ambassador trip, and the Wi-Fi in Cape Town is apparently not the most reliable. While there and in Johannesburg, she did volunteer work and visited with local high school students. She’s been an ambassador since 2012, when she visited Australia. She paid her own way for that trip, selling handcrafted bracelets to raise the money. Her mother, Stacey Fredericks, helped, but Zayda did much of the work herself.

Since then, in addition to South Africa, she’s been to 13 countries doing ambassador work. One moment Fredericks will never forget is walking through Cambodia two summers ago. She and her group were leaving Angkor Wat when they were slowed by young beggars, She could tell the pain in their eyes was real, and that they were begging because they had no other choice. She felt her feet turn to stone as she imagined herself in their predicament.

Leaving those kids, with no way to help them other than offering what little she had on her, was one of the hardest things she’s had to do in her life, she said.

“I believe world peace should come,” Fredericks said, on why she’s passionate about being an ambassador. “And I think knowledge of other places is the first step. The more you know, the less you are afraid.”

I never so much as started a lemonade stand. Fredericks’ teenage years blow mine away.

Fredericks returned to the United States on July 8, but not to Sarasota. No, she was whisked away to take part in multiple lacrosse camps on the East Coast. When I spoke with her, she was camped in Richmond, Va., for the Warrior National Prospect Invite. Eighty girls in her graduating class, nationally, were selected for the camp, which sent invitations not solely based on skills (though, that is a large part), but also on grades, leadership and recommendations from coaches. Fredericks is also one of 20 girls to represent Florida in the National Lacrosse Classic, also taking place in Richmond, which will be played in front of NCAA coaches.

“My hustle helps me out a lot,” Fredericks said. “I’m fast. I get to loose balls, whether on the ground or in the air. I’m also a leader on the field.”

It’s incredible that Fredericks finds the time to stay sharp. Sometimes, it’s a tight fit — she plays travel lacrosse for Soul Lacrosse in Tampa, and gets to practice early so she has time to do her math homework in the car. Fredericks shouts out Soul coach Taylor Ketcham for grooming her into the player she is today.

She also praises her mother for being an all-around role model and the strongest woman Fredericks knows.

Her dream is to play lacrosse at Vanderbilt University, though she’s not sure about a major.

With all her on- and off-field accomplishments, and the attitude with which she carries herself, I have no doubt that she’ll achieve whatever she attempts.

Zayda Fredericks is a name to remember.