On my way to New York.....It’s early Sunday morning at SeaTac Airport. My mom dropped me off curbside. I have done this often enough that I feel comfortable checking myself in, going through security, and walking to the right gate by myself. I know my mom and dad worry, but I always call and confirm that I am safe. I board the plane, walking all the way to the back to my middle seat for a long trans-con flight. Luckily, I slept all the way until we landed.

Getting off the plane, I look around for baggage claim. I have never been in the Newark airport but I had no problem getting to where I needed to be. We wear the US polo shirt with khakis so we can be easily identified in the airport by our administrator.

On our way to the Hilton where the team stays, I can feel the excitement building to see my friends and start some very intense training.

We train the same day we arrive....throughout the week we have two training sessions or 1 training session with a game following in the evening. The first involved our team and Men’s team formed with ex-pros from different countries. We got killed!!! But in the end, it was a great learning experience. The men’s team played extremely fast. We needed to step up our game.

In addition to the training sessions and games, we are put through a series of fitness tests and technical skills. A few examples would be the beep test (timed running point to point), juggling with a tennis ball 50 times left and right foot (very difficult-harder than it looks), and long distance measurement of striking the ball. Each camp I attend, we do the same tests to make sure we are improving.

During the middle of the week, our team went on an adventure to New York City. We saw the Phantom of the Opera-(It was so BORING!) News Flash>>>>> While walking down Broadway, we see David Henry (Justin Russo, from Wizards of Wavery Place).
That might have been the best part of the adventure!

I did have some bad luck during one of our games. As I was taking a shot an opponent toe poked the ball away and I hyper extended my knee. It was very painful, but the worst part was sitting out for the last couple days of camp. I was very frustrated.

It was really sad saying goodbye to my teammates, however I cherish all the new friendships, skills, and tactical knowledge this U17 camp has provided.


(Aug. 16-23) Two weeks after I get home from New York, I am on a plane and am off to Los Angeles to play with the U-15 National Team. My dad drop’s me off at the airport and after a two and a half hour flight I arrive at the LAX airport. There I get my luggage and am picked up by my administrator. While in Los Angeles our team gets to train and play games at the Home Depot Center. Home to the LA Galaxy, Chivas USA, and LA Sol.

We head to the Home Depot Center as a team after a big pre-game meal at our hotel. After we arrive we walk down a stair-well to find our locker room. I walk in and see my blue locker with my name printed on the top of it. Our Uniforms are laid out for us and we blast music to get pumped up for our game.When everyone is ready to go we walk out to the fields as a team onto the most beautiful soccer fields you will ever see.We all get together before the game to do a cheer where we yell "USA!". Our first game is against a U-17 girls club team called the So Cal Blues. We won 3-0. Then came a much harder challenge. The Southern California boys team. We did end up losing that game 2-0, but had fun playing at such a fast pace in front of a cheering crowd. I think girls can learn so much by playing against and training with boy’s teams because they are always thinking one step ahead.

At these training camps we don’t only play soccer. We got to go walk the sandy beaches of Hermosa Beach, swim in the warm blue water’s of California, eat frozen yogurt, and play beach volleyball. One of the most exciting days was when our team got to meet Abby Wambach personally. We all got autographs (I got mine on my shoe) and asked her questions about her soccer career. After that we were lucky enough to watch the WPL Championship between the LA Sol and Sky Blue from New Jersey.

Playing with the best 21 other girls in the country really showed me what I needed to work on to improve my game. We all get along so well because we all share the same goals. There is nothing I’d rather be doing than playing soccer. I have met so many different people like Bob Bradley, Leslie Osbourne, Abby Wambach, and Chivas USA players. I am so glad that I have had these opportunity’s and will keep working to earn a spot on future National Team’s. I don’t think there is a better feeling than putting on the U.S. jersey and playing for your country. I have learned at these camps that you can always improve your game whether it’s juggling for 15 miniutes a day on your own, or just kicking a ball against the wall to work on your touch. These national camps are such great learning experiences and inspire me to want to become the best soccer player I can be.