She may not have been born on the bayou, but Clearwater Chargers standout Kaley Blades is likely to make a home in the hearts of LSU Tigers soccer fans.

The 2010 graduate from the Tampa Bay area recently gave her verbal commitment to Brian Lee's program. A forward with strikingly quick moves, Blades can be a real match-changer, provided she's able to stay on the field.

In the summer of 2007 Blades suffered what is known as a Jones Fracture of her 5th metatarsal bone (on the side of the foot). She had to where a cast for 12 weeks and because the injury was a stress fracture, the prescribed cure involved a lot of rest, which naturally affected her overall fitness.

"It's taken pretty much a whole year to where I feel like I'm finally back to where I was as a player," Blades said. "I just couldn't run on it as much as I wanted before now."

But with health restored and a verbal commitment to a high-profile school taken care of, Blades is again flourishing on the soccer field. Her club coach, Michael Mannino said she is regaining the confidence necessary to employ her physical, technical and mental attributes, including a robust, 1v1, attacking style.  Staying healthy is a key too all of this.

"We've been handling it differently this year and keeping her healthy," Mannino said.  "She's not playing high school ball. We're not killing her and overusing her."

Now into her junior year of high school, Blades had already established herself on the recruiting radar enough to attract plenty of attention from college coaches. She chose LSU over Texas and Florida State, citing a better offer from the Tigers as well as the good feeling she got from the program. She's also eager to be college teammates with Region III friends such as Megan Kinneman and Mary (Addie) Eggleston, as well as club teammate Kendall Narum.

Kaley said she is glad to have the decision made.

"I didn't know if I knew enough about how to make the right decision, but I definitely found the right school for me," she said. "It takes a lot of stress off me and my parents. I don't have to worry about tournaments about if I'm going to be seen by the right people. Now I can just concentrate on playing well and helping my team win. You can have more fun that way."

It's also more fun to stay healthy. Kaley's mother Pauline credits trainer Mike Welch with having done a good job of getting her daughter back to full health. Pauline adds however, that when it came to motivation, Kaley never needed any help.

"She started at age 7 on her brother's U9 competitive team (for Largo United). She was out there playing center defense with a long ponytail," Pauline recalls. "She definitely got out there and took every boy on. Everything revolved around soccer. She's very self-motivated. People ask us ‘What did you do?' (to motivate her) and we tell them there was nothing. She asked for everything -  more training, a tougher team – She's never needed us to push her."

Blades also has combated a sports asthma condition since she was 12.

"I use the inhaler before every game," she said. Sometimes I have to come out of a game and use it, then go back in."

She generally keeps a leg up on the situation, and while admitting that it can sometimes be discouraging, she summarizes with "I get over it."

Mannino said LSU is getting a great player and person.

"It starts with her attitude. I've never heard one word of complaint from her. She's mature for her age and just a great girl," he said. "She's always noticeable on the field because of her pace, her skill and her ability to play the game. Kaley is really dangerous on the field."