Difference between revisions of "Olivia Moultrie"

Revision as of 14:24, 28 March 2019

Soccer phenom Olivia Moultrie' went pro at the young age of 13 when she signed a multi-year endorsement deal with Nike and when she signed with the sports and entertainment agency Wasserman. The agency represents A-list athletes. Her move to pro is evidence that women’s soccer is catching up to men’s.

Moultrie made soccer headlines when at the age of 11 she committed to play in the elite women’s college soccer program at the University of North Carolina. She was the youngest girls’ soccer player to publicly accept an academic scholarship offer, but then the youngest girls’ soccer player to officially forgo her college athletic eligibility by going pro.

She was featured in a Nike commercial that aired during the 2019 Academy Awards that also featured tennis star Serena Williams, Olympian Simone Biles, and Latter-day Saint football sensation Sam Gordon.

She has played in international competition and trained at the U.S. Soccer Development Academy. At age 12, she made multiple trips to Europe to meet and train with Olympique Lyon and Paris St.-Germain in France, and Bayern Munich in Germany.

Olivia is a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Her family’s motto is “It’s faith. Then family. Then soccer.” Her mother was a college soccer player and her father played college basketball. Olivia started playing soccer when she was four years old. The Church News reported that “Even as Olivia navigates largely uncharted waters for a young athlete, the family plans to draw upon their faith and family bond for ongoing direction. They rely upon prayer and the gospel for strength and stability.”[1]

Being a Latter-day Saint girl is a bit of a curiosity in the hyper-competitive world of elite soccer. Most of the people Olivia trains or competes with don’t have a full understanding of her faith. That offers unique opportunities.[2]

Her parents tell her, “You have two responsibilities: First, to love and be accepting and treat everyone with kindness. And second, never be afraid of what you believe.”[3]