I can count on two hands the amount of consecutive days I’ve spent at home since I shipped off to college eight years ago. Recently, during one of these rare trips home to Glenside, Pennsylvania between my time playing in the Australian W-League and the current NWSL season, I completed my typical “at-home to-do list” including a routine check-up with my dentist.

While filling out the patient information form, I smiled as I wrote “Professional Athlete” on the line asking for my occupation. I’m glad that, even after playing five seasons as a pro, I’m still chuffed by the fact that I get to kick a ball for a living.

But this privilege didn’t just fall in my lap. Looking back, I can compartmentalize the 22 years that I’ve played the beautiful game into three equally important chapters: club soccer, college soccer, and professional soccer. The first two played critical roles in achieving the third, and remain common themes of many American NWSL players’ soccer resumes.

My club soccer days, defined by the pure joy soccer brings me, provided the opportunity to play with some of the best players in Pennsylvania, under a coach I respected and whom I could grow under. Things like pass-completion percentages, lines of confrontation, and fitness tests weren’t yet on my radar.

Instead, soccer was a pure outlet for my excessive energy and competitiveness, a means for enjoyment, and a vehicle for creating opportunities to play at the next level. Club soccer stoked my passion for playing and instilled a level of confidence in my game that made the prospect of advancing to collegiate soccer a very attainable goal.

I used to dream of playing collegiately when I watched the NCAA Final Four with my dad or served as a ball girl at Saint Joe’s University home games. These visions became reality when I finally put on a Penn State jersey in the fall of 2009. Today, I consider the four years I spent on the Penn State women’s soccer team the greatest and most rewarding time of my life. Reflecting on these years and my club-playing days, my mind is flooded with the memories, lessons learned, and retrospective “ah-ha” moments that make my otherwise seemingly traditional soccer journey unique.

In future columns, I’ll share insights into some of the challenges and successes I’ve experienced: My journey to the NWSL–both on and off the field, tips and advice I’ve received from teammates, coaches, and staff, and most importantly, some unforgettable stories involving the incredible people I’ve met along the way. 

Maddy Evans, from Glenside Pennsylvania, is a midfielder for the Orlando Pride in the National Women’s Soccer League. Evans was a seven-year member of the FC Bucks Vipers and helped lead the team to its first ever National Championship in 2009. She continued her playing career at Penn State University and was drafted to the Boston Breakers in 2013. She will contribute columns on a regular basis to TopDrawerSoccer.com providing tips, insights on club, college soccer and beyond. Follow her on twitter @Mevans018.