Graceful is a term that might not sit well with some female athletes as a label.

Understanding that the word should evoke thoughts of a gazelle rather than a princess, consider it as the best description for PDA's standout forward Mary Gibson Wagner.

One of the most coveted recruiting prospects of the 2010 graduating class, "Gibby," as she is known, is a picture of skill and finesse as she runs with the ball. The New Jersey forward has an advanced understanding of finding seams in the opposition defense and the technical ability and athleticism to exploit them.

"I think I'm like any other player who wants to win," Wagner said in deflecting praise of her talent. "I want to do anything to help my team get a goal. People tell me I'm graceful, but I can't see that. I just want to do whatever is possible to help us win."

Wagner admits to watching a lot of English Premiership on TV and it's not surprising to learn she counts Man United's Cristiano Ronaldo as a favorite, as that sort of creative passion characterizes her style. Of course, the grounding Wagner has had with Tom Anderson and the PDA Fire team has a lot to do with that. Her mother Cindy points to the technical foundation and sound environment available at PDA as a major influence, but she and her husband Bill also know Gibby has been extremely self-motivated from a young age.

"She has a real passion for the game," Cindy said. "I'll see her playing at 6 in the morning in the backyard by herself before she even goes to high school training. None of the other kids did that."

But the family environment has played its part in Gibby's development.

"We have five kids (older brothers Dylan and Harrison, younger sisters Isabel and Zelda, an 8-year old burgeoning star for PDA), and she and her two older brothers would play in the backyard – I have video of her in her Easter dress with a big bow and patent leathers playing soccer," Cindy said. "She used to go to John Daly's camp at William & Mary each summer. When she was nine she got the MVP award for 12 and under. That's when it clicked with me. They had mentioned she had a good touch and things like that, but we didn't know very much. She started playing on a local team and ended up at PDA. Being there and making ODP were real confidence boosters for her."

Gibby recalls her coaches having made a big impact on her confidence level.

"It was probably my 8th grade or freshman year when my coaches at PDA told me I had special ability and could go very far with it," she said. "From there I accepted my responsibility to push my own limits and see how far it could take me."

As she progressed, Gibby was doing well for the U.S. Youth Soccer ODP Region I 91 team, having a particularly good performance at the Coral Springs Interregional in November, 2005. Not surprisingly she was called to the U16 Girls National Team soon afterward and continued to make a good impression. She helped her team to a national runner-up performance at the 2007 U.S. Youth Soccer Nationals, where she suffered a knee injury that kept her out of the final. After recovering fully from the injury she began to find it difficult to maintain fitness, eventually learning in early 2008 that she had mononucleosis.

"I had been called back to the national team and that was great to play with the best players in the country," she said. "It was really difficult when I got sick because at first I wasn't sure what was going on. I was trying to work harder but I couldn't figure out why my fitness was decreasing. Once we realized what it was, I stopped going to school and just stayed home until I got better. I recovered in time to go to regionals again and we won again and played very well at nationals. I still think I'm not at 100 percent but I've been working on individual fitness and ball skills so I can not only get back to where I was, but to where everybody else is."

College and club coaches say Wagner is closer to being there than she apparently gives herself credit, evoking images of the same player from 18 months ago that was so effective on the field.

"Right now I'm happy with where I am and how much progress I have made," she said. "We're in high school season now and we practice every day, plus I continue to go to PDA to train with the club and train individually."

Among her teammates at PDA Fire are fellow Players to Watch Gabriella Guzman, Shannon Roche, Kristen Niederhaus, Emily Parisi and Rachel Davitt.

The time off and the continued focus on improvement mean Gibby isn't as far along in the recruiting process as some of her 2010 classmates.

"I'm really just beginning my process," she said. "We're trying to get out there and see what's there. I haven't fully dived in yet."

Probably because the water is so full of coaches she can't find a place to splash. So far she has visited in-state programs Princeton and Rutgers, and is planning to take unofficial visits to Duke, Wake Forest, North Carolina and Florida State, but she stresses that she is still open to other schools in the process.

Along with college, national team and the revived WPS are long-term goals for Gibby.

"It's great that the pro league is coming back," she said. "I can see myself enjoying that a lot after college. I love the sport so much, whatever does end up happening I'm sure I'll be happy with as long as I'm still involved with the game."