Scoring in soccer is not as simple as smacking a ball over the fence or putting it through an orange cylinder.

It takes footwork as graceful as an artist’s paintbrush and the vision of a boardwalk developer.

South Kitsap senior midfielder Christina Boddie brings both to a team that hopes to reach the state tournament for a second straight year.

She was athletic enough to star on the school’s track team as a hurdler as a sophomore, and has the creativity befitting the daughter of an NFL running back. Her father, Tony Boddie, starred at Bremerton High and played on the 1987 Denver Broncos team that reached the Super Bowl.

While the younger Boddie isn’t as into football — she turns off the games on Sunday — she admires her father, who still serves as an assistant coach at Bremerton in addition to his position as a sales manager for Nestle.

He was selected Denver’s “best conditioned athlete” two years in a row and in Super Bowl XXII he was special teams captain for the Broncos.

Preparation was important as Boddie was the youngest of three sisters — Chantal and Kylen are students at Washington State and Western Washington, respectively. Her younger brother, Dominic, is a sophomore running back for the Wolves.

“To be the best, you have to train the best,” Boddie said. “If we all push each other, we can get to that next level.”

First-year South coach Julie Cain, who previously was an assistant at California’s Westmont College and Seattle Pacific University, said Boddie is versatile enough to play midfielder or defender at the collegiate level.

But Cain, who recruited athletes at both schools, said it’s Boddie’s work ethic that might give her an advantage over other recruits.

She cited last week when her team played an intrasquad match. Boddie was on the winning side, and the reward was less running after practice. But Boddie insisted on equal work for both sides because they are one team.

It’s one of many reasons why junior outside back Riley Dopps enjoys playing with Boddie.

“She’s great to work with on the field because she’s always talking,” said Dopps, who already is drawing interest from Arizona State, Boise State and Washington State. “She’s always looking to make herself and the team better.”

Boddie describes herself as laid-back, but views that as a desirable trait in a leader. She said some of the seniors in previous classes were not friendly. Boddie wants her teammates to be able to talk with her without being intimidated.

“I laugh all the time,” she said. “I try and make everything fun.”

That begins on the field. Boddie scored eight goals and had three assists during the 2008 regular season.

“She’s the most creative player on the field we have,” Cain said. “She can strike the ball from 40 yards out or she can take it in.”

But Boddie is not just a scorer. She also can create opportunities for players such as senior Courtney Brown, who is expected to return from a broken right fibula soon, and freshman Becca Schoales.

“She’s thinking two or three balls ahead of the game,” Cain said. “It’s unique to have a player who can read the game, see the game and play an offense that is quite sophisticated in the high-school game.”

Those skills have attracted attention from colleges and Boddie said she is looking at the University of Idaho. She wants to become a dermatologist; the medical field runs in the family — Chantal is in nursing school and their mother, Susanne, works at Harrison Medical Center.

As long as the Wolves are committed to working on their field complexion, Boddie believes they should be successful.

“There’s so much talent here,” she said. “As long as we keep progressing — training hard — we’ll do well.”

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