Olivia Moultrie: Just Does It Her Way

Greatness, an entity that few people are able to reach but many will spend the majority of their lives chasing it. Oonly to never reach the pinnacle of whatever it is that’s worth fighting for. It’s the quality we associate with sports and specific athletes, i.e. “Greatest of all-time” aka GOAT. Such a concept would seem incredibly far off for a teenage girl to or anyone that age to understand. Yet that’s exactly what Olivia Moultrie is chasing as she sets her sights on being one of the best soccer players, ever.

Who, at that age, would set that lofty goal? It sounds crazy, audacious for a 13-year-old to turn professional in a sport like soccer but that’s exactly what Moultrie wants you to think. She’s aspired to be one best since she was six years old. So far, she’s shown the mental resolve and toughness to do so.

After signing with the Wasserman Media Group, a sports agency, as well as a sponsorship with Nike, the sky is the limit for this young prodigy. Some people are thrilled that she’s taking this leap leap to chase her dreams. Others are speculative at best.

Plenty of questions have already been asked of her. “What about getting a college education?”, or, “Can she handle the pressure?”, “Will soccer be fun for her as she gets older?”. All of those questions are completely valid. However, none of them will be a concern to Moultrie as she continues to go after her goal.

We’ll share some of those answers we learned from the phenom-field-player’s private trainer, Alfredo “Fredo” Sainz. He and Moultrie have worked together 3 to 4 times a week since she was six years of age.  Fredo,  who showed great humility, let us know she made him a better coach. The young O’s ability to learn and adapt his lessons to her game so quickly challenged him to create stronger drills for her to master.

Fist, we believe receiving a college education is incredibly important when it comes to having a career after soccer. Society’s expectation is for all of us to go to college when we are 18-22 years old to prepare for the rest of our lives. If Moultrie is so invested in her goal then she could go back to school whenever she wants to in order to get a degree. There’s nothing stopping her other than what our society says about going back to school when you’re older and that a person may be too old for higher learning. However, that simply isn’t true.

Athletes like Venus Williams, Michelle Kwan, Michael Jordan, and Shaq, went back to school to get their degrees both during and after their careers were over. All of them could’ve been complacent, they’ve made more than enough money to survive off their respective legacies but they clearing understood the importance of education.

When it comes to the matter of pressure and will the game be fun, this is all that Moultrie wants to do. Granted at 13 she may not know what else is out there. Nevertheless, she is the type of athlete who wants the ball in her hands with the game on the line; the pressure is what all the great ones relish rather than shy away.

For Olivia Moultrie to go pro at her age will hopefully inspire others to take the leap and do the same. It will only help the women’s game grow in a major way. Boys as young as six are getting recruited by Premier League clubs and the same goes for Barcelona and Real Madrid.

The United States is the ultimate breeding ground for women’s soccer but the rest of the world is slowly catching up. The sooner our girls start to play at a higher level the better. That’s what makes this news so important.

Moultrie has an opportunity to start something bigger than herself. There will always be haters and those who doubt her and her process no matter what, but Olivia Moultrie has what it takes to deal with what’s to come as she continues to grow as a soccer player.

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