When talking with coaches who have worked with Sophia Smith throughout her career, the same characteristics keep coming up in discussions about the 22-year-old: her drive, her determination, her willingness to learn.
Smith grew up in Windsor, Colorado, with two older sisters, Gabrielle and Savannah, both of whom played basketball, and dad Kenny who was a basketball player at the University of Wyoming. At one point it looked like basketball would be the sport Smith would succeed at given she also played at a high level through high school.
But it was soccer that was Smith’s true love and passion. She met future U.S. teammate Jaelin Howell in kindergarten where they were two of just four girls in a class of 22. The parents of one of the other girls, Martha and Rob Martin, began a recreational team called the Timnath Twisters, which both Smith and Howell became a part of, and her journey toward where she is today began.
After becoming two of the standout players on the team, both were picked up by a local club called Arsenal Colorado, and it was there Smith and Howell were noticed by Lorne Donaldson, now the Jamaica national team coach, but at the time was both president and a coach at Real Colorado, one of the top clubs in the country.
“When we…
