15 year old signed to Washington Spirit

[TU 1978]

Bypassing college altogether.

The Washington Spirit announced the signing of 15-year-old midfielder Chloe Ricketts on Friday, making the Michigan native the youngest contracted player in National Women’s Soccer League history.
A high school sophomore, Ricketts signed a three-year contract with an option for 2026 after training with the Spirit in preseason. She is three days younger than Olivia Moultrie was when the midfielder signed with the Portland Thorns in June 2021.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2023/03/03/washington-spirit-chloe-ricketts/

 

[HuffyCane]

Bypassing college altogether.

The Washington Spirit announced the signing of 15-year-old midfielder Chloe Ricketts on Friday, making the Michigan native the youngest contracted player in National Women’s Soccer League history.
A high school sophomore, Ricketts signed a three-year contract with an option for 2026 after training with the Spirit in preseason. She is three days younger than Olivia Moultrie was when the midfielder signed with the Portland Thorns in June 2021.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2023/03/03/washington-spirit-chloe-ricketts/

Moultrie is the Todd Marinovich of women’s soccer. Offered by UNC at age 11, her father had her on supplements and doing drills while she was still a toddler.

 

[TU_BLA]

I know soccer is about finding and ID'ing young talent and getting them into the fold and learning the system but for every Christian Pulisic, there's a Freddy Adu. And Adu had a nice career but nowhere near what people projected him to be. How many of these wunderkinds that sign early flame out before they're 22? In the women's game there isn't a plethora of pro options out there and they've already made themselves ineligible for college competition. USL isn't a great payday for the players but I think it's decent enough the guys aren't working 40 hr a week jobs to make ends meet in season.