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Alice Walker Shone At USLX, Now She's Continuing Her Path In College

03/20/2019, 11:00am EDT
By Matt Reed - matt.reed@uslsoccer.com

Former Washington Spirit Maryland forward is thriving at UNC Asheville after two USLX visits

Super Y League has helped create a pathway for many players looking to further their soccer careers past the youth level, and that was certainly the case for USL Experience alum Alice Walker.

The now-freshman forward at UNC Asheville came to USLX back in 2016 when the event debuted in Cincinnati, and it was that opportunity to provided her with her first exposure to a professional atmosphere of training that she is now accustomed to at the collegiate level.

Walker returned a year later to USLX in San Antonio, providing her with a second chance to duplicate her efforts and push forward towards UNC Asheville.

After her time with youth club Washington Spirit Maryland, Walker says her experiences with the team were not only invaluable but vital to her development as a player and her preparation for her next move in her soccer-playing progression.

“I attended the first ever USL Experience in 2016 in Cincinnati as well as in San Antonio in 2017,” Walker told SYLSoccer.com. “Both times were amazing experiences that I will never forget, and I made friends that I still am in touch with even now.

“Playing in the Super Y League and attending USLX opened up avenues for me that I would not have had access to otherwise. Through Super Y, I was able to train with the fantastic Washington Spirit organization, and I cannot thank all the coaches I had with them enough for everything they did for me.

“I truly do not know if I would be where I am now without all their help. Although college soccer is not professional soccer, it is still a professional environment that is very different from a typical high school or club team, and I think attending USLX helped prepare me for that aspect of this phase of my career.

“When you are a college athlete, you are representing your school at all times and everything you do is under a microscope. Through USLX I got sort of a trial run for things like photo shoots and interviews, along with general experience on acting in a professional manner.”

Like many experiences in life, sometimes it’s difficult to know who you’ll meet until it occurs. For Walker, USLX provided her with the opportunity to leave lasting impressions on the coaches and scouts present at the event, and that’s what earned her a spot at the collegiate level.

“Overall, the Super Y League was an incredible opportunity for me, especially when I was younger, to train and play when my club team was taking time off,” Walker said. “It also gave me the chance to connect with the Washington Spirit organization, something that would serve me incredibly well as I got older.

“Eventually I was able to play for their development academy team during my senior year of high school, and train with their reserve team the summer before my freshman season at UNC Asheville.”


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