There's such a thing as natural talent, and Jordan Jackson has that.

But the consensus on the KCFC Alliance forward is that her passion and dedication to the game has pushed those qualities to a much higher level, making her one of the top players in the country for her age group.

Jackson, who graduates this spring but committed to play at Nebraska as a sophomore, admits she is very driven to succeed.

If you're going to do something you should do it to the best of your ability. It just takes practice to get better," she said. "If I wasn't having fun I wouldn't be doing it. I just like competing. I don't like losing in anything."

Her club coach in Kansas City, Richard Davies, attests to this attitude as well.

"Jordan is one of the few natural goalscorers that I've ever worked with. She has the whole package. It all comes down to her drive and determination. She always wants to improve and do better. She is top notch," Davies said. "She's an example for the younger kids at the club. She just has a huge natural drive. Whatever the game situation is, whether we're up or down, she still wants everything to be the best it could be. She leads by example with her tenacity, but she's also a very pleasant person who has the respect of her teammates."

Jordan's mother Maureen also testifies that her daughter's tenacity is not recently acquired.

"She's one of the most focused people I have ever known," she said. "She has been playing soccer since she was about four and has never wavered from playing soccer seven days a week."

Jordan plans to study something in sports medicine at Nebraska, possibly physical therapy, and mentioned the school's acumen in that area as one of the main reason she chose the Cornhuskers.

"It's one of the top programs. They also have one of the top programs for supporting student athletes," she said. "I like their style of play. It's how I play, plus I get along with the coach (John Walker) really well."

Jordan chose Nebraska over Kansas, Iowa State, Missouri and Missouri State. She is a leadling light among Kansas City area prospects, including younger players such as Shea Groom, Kaycie Clark, Delaney Kiely and Allie Stephenson.

Jordan does things on the field very quickly and plays with a healthy aggression. Equally good at running the ball as well as striking it, she is the leading goalscorer for both her club and high school, and takes all the squad's set pieces.

She attributes her more recent ball-striking development to Kansas City Wizards' youth  coach and former British professional Paul Rideout.

"I was already able to hit a ball well but he's shown me how to put different spins on the ball," she said. "It's amazing to watch him kick a ball so I've been trying to learn more of what he does. My club coach Richard has helped me a lot too with awareness and how to use my skill."

But her tremendous desire to succeed comes from within.