Hi my name is Rhea Soderberg and I would love to introduce myself. I am 16 years old, currently a sophomore at Melbourne High in Melbourne, Florida who will be graduating in the year 2023. I have played soccer since the young age of four. Shortly after, I began playing 3v3 tournaments. At the age of seven, I began playing on a competitive team, learning all positions in the game. It was then in 2013 that I joined my current team Brevard Beachside Soccer Club. I continued to play in various field positions, until 2015 when I devoted myself as our team goalkeeper. To keep up my foot skills, I played secondary on the boys team as long as it didn’t interfere with my primary team. I chose and enjoy playing for Beachside Impact because they like to build out of the back. As a former field player, I am very comfortable passing, building or if needed clearing the ball under pressure.
Previously, my BBSC team and I have attended tournaments including WAGS 2018 winning our division with PK's; Disney Showcase, and AAU Jr Olympics 2020, winning again in PK's, where I got to take the sixth shot and make it; then save the sixth shot. Unfortunately, due to COVID the National tournament in Las Vegas for March 2020 was canceled so we could not attend as planned. My team and I attended CASL on December 4-6, 2020 in NC and I also attended the Goalkeeper ID combine on Friday Dec 4th. CASL was a learning experience with the newly COVID rules, all players had to wear a mask during game play. This became a struggle within itself with breathing and my once loud voice was not so loud. Disney Girls Soccer Showcase we attended on January 15-17, 2021. We played some tough teams; only allowing two goals in the final game to end in a tie 2-2. Our most recent showcase was the IMG held on March 5-7, 2021. Again, three tough teams to play against and only allowing one goal in the entire weekend.
I went to West Shore Jr/Sr High my 7th & 8th grade years. I chose not to play high school soccer in 7th grade as my family and I got into a car accident just two days before tryouts. (I was still pretty bruised up from the accident.) My 8th grade year, I played soccer for West Shore as a field player. Started out on the JV team but got moved up to Varsity mid season. I have been on my Melbourne High School's Varsity team as a Goalkeeper for 2 years. 2019-2020 season, we placed second in our District class 6A and continued onto Regional Semifinals. My sophomore year (2020-2021), our school won the District Championship and we continued onto the Regional Quarterfinals where we unfortunately fell short, 0-1. (A few COVID setbacks) It has been a dream of mine to play college soccer and the thought of pursuing this dream encourages me to train harder and play harder everyday.
Education is considerably important to me and my family. I am a planner with strong organizational skills; mastering time management. I reserve time for both my studies and my training; allowing me to never miss either one of them. There is a time and place for everything and the two should not cancel out one another. I look forward to my scheduled training practices, both with my team 3x a week and individualized keeper training, 1x a week.
I am fortunate to have been given such great exposure to soccer on many different soccer teams and levels. Giving back to the community and sharing my love for soccer was an easy choice. I was given the opportunity to coach younger kids to help them develop into better players and people. For many years now, I have helped as an assistant coach with our clubs U6-U8 recreational teams for girls & boys ages 4-7. When not coaching these age groups, I volunteer to referee their games. It is such a rewarding feeling to see these young players with the spark in their eyes, while on the field playing soccer. I not only get to share the passion of soccer with these players but I also get to spend more time on the field. During the summer months, I volunteer with Element Soccer Camp, running drills & skill work.
Thank you for taking the time and showing interest to get to know more about me!
Rhea Soderberg
