20 Mar The Journey to D1 Soccer

Hey y’all!! I am Abby Walsh and I want to tell you about my soccer experience. I have been playing soccer since I was three and it has always been a dream of mine to play in college. I started playing with an AYSO team in Ogden, Utah where I lived. When I was about 5 years old, I started playing club soccer with LaRoca. I continued playing for LaRoca until I was about 8 years old when my family decided to move to Savannah, Georgia. I remember my first tryout for Savannah United and honestly I was extremely nervous. I did not know many people and I was worried that I would not make the team. I knew I would be heartbroken if I did not make the team, so instead of worrying when tryouts began I decided to leave it all out on the field. I did end up making the team and I was super happy! The coach had told me that I would be playing as a forward which was a huge change coming from my previous team, where I had only played defense. I was pretty shocked. But, I took that as a challenge and wanted to become the best forward in order for my team to be successful. Throughout the years at Savannah United, I have learned many different things such as: adjusting to change, becoming a leader on the field, overcoming adversity, and much more.

This past year has been the hardest for me mentally. Trying to be recruited is a grueling process that challenges you in many ways. I don’t want to discourage anyone from wanting to play in college but I want to be honest about my experience going through the process. For example, I would email so many coaches and send them video and game footage, but many do not answer you. It is almost as if you are trying to communicate with a brick wall. It is extremely challenging when you keep putting yourself out there and no one answers, it leaves you feeling like you are not good enough. Over the next several months I was able to connect with many coaches – had many calls, had some visits but was still looking for the right fit. I struggled mentally throughout the whole process, but my family was my support squad and I was able to lean on them.

After a few months talking with Coach Chris from Kennesaw State, I had finally gone on a visit and I was so excited. I liked the campus, the coaches, and the whole program. After the visit, I was offered a scholarship and a place on the team. I was extremely happy and relieved that this process was finally over. I accepted the offer around May of 2024 and announced my verbal commitment in July of 2024. I knew it was now time to control what I can control, which is how I play. I was going through the fall season with my team and absolutely killing it. I was so determined to get playing minutes when I got to Kennesaw. Throughout my season I kept sending film to Coach Chris and strangely he did not answer or was very short when he replied. I thought this was very odd and one day he asked to set up a phone call. I did not think anything of it and was just so excited that my recruiting process was done….or so I thought.

In early November 2024, I picked up the phone when he called and I had my family with me. Coach Chris went straight to talking and had told us that I no longer had a spot on the team due to the new NCAA roster limit. I was extremely devastated. That night I did not want to do anything and I thought I would never get the chance to play in college. I had to remind myself of my favorite bible verse Isaiah 43:2, “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze.” Because of how challenging this process was for me, I leaned into my faith more than ever before. I knew I could count on God’s continuous love and guidance. I had to have faith that I would be led where I was meant to be.

The next day my family and I had to start the whole recruiting process over again and it was very challenging. The timing could not have been worse, the window of recruiting for the 2025 class was closing – most rosters were filled, and it was days before the transfer portal opened. So, any available spots were likely being held for transfers. My parents spent hours on film getting highlight videos pulled together as I sent hundreds of emails out to coaches who were still recruiting. My ultimate goal was still to play at a Division 1 college and now that I had my offer pulled that dream seemed even farther away. I was very discouraged. Luckily, I did have a handful of coaches reply to my emails and I got into many conversations about my future with them.

After a month or so of emailing, Coach Ben Sohrabi with Radford University reached out, we had a few calls and then he asked if I would be interested in an official visit. I was so excited and agreed to go on the visit in early February 2025. My family and I ventured up to Virginia and absolutely fell in love with the campus, the coaches, and the community. After our drive back from Virginia, I had decided that I wanted to play for Radford. I happily sent Coach Ben and Coach Fox a message about my decision and I felt a weight slide off my shoulders. I signed with Radford University on February 20th of 2025. I was so excited that I had found my future home and that it was secured on paper. Now, I am focused on working on my fitness and soccer skills and finishing high school strong. God decided that Kennesaw was not where I was supposed to be and I trust His will and His plan. I could not thank my family, my friends, and my coaches enough with how much they supported me throughout this whole process. Soccer is such a beautiful sport, but it’s a sport that requires so much mental toughness and resilience. And it was after this recruiting process I realized that all my training for that toughness on the field was able to help me off the field as well.