Magnolia senior Colvin earns a taste of professional game
Kate Colvin is used to being one of the best players on the soccer field.
Lately, not so much.
As many players — though they’ve now returned — departed for the Women’s World Cup, Colvin was given the opportunity to practice with the Dash for the summer. Basically, she’s surrounded by some of best in the game.
“It’s hard because it kind of hurts with your confidence a little bit, adjusting to it,” Colvin said. “You just gotta keep on reminding yourself that you’re not supposed to be the best one out there.”
Just ahead of the World Cup, Dash coach James Clarkson called on the team’s youth club for practice players, said Randy Evans, director of coaching for the Dash Youth Club
“They reached out and we nominated essentially some of our most deserving players,” Evans said. “The kids who are most dedicated and work hard and have the talent to try to compete.”
Evans’ reason to nominate Colvin for the practice squad was simple: Her dedication. She’s like a sponge, he said. She’ll learn whatever she’s being taught and dedicate herself to adding that to her game.
At under-12, Colvin was on the third team of the club. For many kids at that age, if they’re not on the first team, they go to a different club or sometimes quit, Evans said.
Not Colvin.
“Kate just has this desire to get better and better,” Evans said. “She’s worked her way through a third team at U-12 to becoming one of the best players in her entire age group right now.”
Originally a midfielder, Colvin has spent most of her time as a defender with the Dash and stepped into a much-needed role, defender Kristie Mewis said. And Colvin has taken advantage of it.
“She just kind of has that raw instinct and I don’t think that a lot of players have that,” Mewis said. “She has a lot to learn, as do I — you know, everyone has a lot to learn. But she’s still young, and I just think that she has that raw talent inside of her that will probably have her be successful in the future.”
It’s not a typical summer break for a 17-year-old heading into her senior year of high school. She doesn’t sleep all day or stay up all night. Instead, soccer (and summer classes) are her focus.
“She’s more obsessed and works harder than I’ve ever seen anybody and it’s paid off,” Colvin’s father David said. “The biggest problem we have is her not overdoing it and saying, ‘No, you can’t go play for the second time today.’ ”
About three to four days a week, Colvin wakes up at 7 a.m. to be out the door by 7:15 for the 90minute drive from Magnolia to Houston. Practice starts around 9:30.
Once she hops out of the car and takes the field, she’s no longer 17-year-old Kate Colvin. She’s a member of a National Women’s Soccer League practice squad and she’s held accountable that way.
“They understand that I’m an academy player, but still, they expect me to perform and keep the level going,” Colvin said.
Through this weekly routine, Colvin has translated what she’s learned from some of the Dash to her game on the club level. One player in particular is midfielder Christine Nairn. Colvin noticed Nairn is good with both feet and sharp on the ball.
In San Diego for a tournament a few weeks ago, Colvin tried not to be hesitant with her weaker foot. Even if things were a little off, it showed her what she needs to improve, she said
“Playing with the Dash and then going back to my team, I feel like I had more confidence,” Colvin said. “I’m usually not that big of a goal scorer, but I scored two goals in San Diego.”
Now that the World Cup is over, the team is slowly coming back together. From watching someone like Dash defender Clare Polkinghorne on TV with the Australian national team one day to receiving a pass from her days later, it’s surreal to Colvin.
“Seeing people on TV then seeing them in person, it’s crazy how good they actually are,” she said. “It just shows me how good you can be.”
The level of competition Colvin has experienced this summer will help with her speed of play heading into her senior year at Magnolia and soon the University of New Mexico.
“She aspires to be a professional soccer player,” Evans said. “Now, she gets that really rare opportunity to see what it takes to be a professional player. She’s not of the level those professional players are right now, but she knows what it takes.”