After a four-year absence, former Red Bank standout Rachel Rushworth is returning to the Chattanooga Christian soccer tournament, but in a capacity she wouldn’t have imagined during her time as a high school player.

Back then the all-state midfielder envisioned a future in journalism, but Rushworth changed direction during her stellar career with the Maryville College women’s soccer program.

Now an English teacher and assistant soccer coach at Maryville High School, Rushworth will bring the Lady Rebels to join a large number of high school soccer and volleyball teams in town for tournaments this weekend.

“It feels like just yesterday I was still playing at Red Bank,” she said. “It’s really cool to get to come back on the other side of it now. It was always a lot of fun, so I’m excited. Even though I’m with another team, it will still feel like home.”

Rushworth, whose No. 21 jersey was retired after she graduated from Red Bank in 2004, continued her success during her Maryville College career. The two-time team captain became the Lady Scots’ first four-time all-conference player. She finished with career totals of 39 goals and 27 assists, leading Maryville to the Division III national tournament each year and also serving as the school’s student body president her senior year.

“It was a wonderful experience,” Rushworth said. “It’s always nice to be able to do something you love, and Maryville was perfect for that. They have a great program, and I’m really glad I did it. It made me a better player, and I think it helped me grow as a person.”

Besides Maryville, teams from Shelbyville, Knoxville Catholic, Science Hill, David Lipscomb, Anderson County, Tullahoma, Coffee County, Franklin Road Academy and Tennessee High will be traveling to Chattanooga to compete in the annual CCS tournament.

Joining them will be area teams Ooltewah, McMinn Central, Cleveland, Signal Mountain and Boyd-Buchanan, plus the host Lady Chargers. Play begins at 3:30 p.m. Friday with teams competing on three fields at CCS. Semifinals for each division will be Saturday at 10:30 and noon, with the Blue Division final scheduled for 5 and the Gold Division final to follow.

It will be an even busier weekend for high school volleyball in Chattanooga, as 32 teams from Tennessee and Georgia compete for the championship of the prestigious Choo-Choo tournament. Pool play begins Friday afternoon at East Ridge and Red Bank, and resumes at 9 a.m. Saturday, when teams are re-seeded based on Friday’s performance.

The top finishers in Saturday morning’s pools advance to elimination play starting at 4 p.m. The tournament champion will come out of the Gold Bracket at East Ridge, and coach Catherine Neely said a number of the teams participating could contend for the title.

“It’s always fun to watch, because you never know who’s going to come out,” she said. “You have to see who can last. It gets tough, because if you get to the final, you’re going to have to play 10 matches.”

This year several teams will be making their first trip to the Choo-Choo, which features participants from as far away as Memphis. The Knoxville and Nashville areas will also be well-represented, along with Dalton and Ridgeland from North Georgia.

“I think it’s a premier tournament because of the endurance it takes and because of all the good teams that come,” Neely said. “It’s a training ground for who’s going to be at the state tournament. A lot of teams from the Choo-Choo have gone on to win state championships.”

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