Puppetmaster may not be her nickname, but it probably should be.

Annie Speese, attacking midfielder for the GSA Phoenix Red U16 Girls, is a definitive string puller in central midfield. She has a cleverness about her when it comes to making decisions in the attacking third and a technical base that allows her to put balls in such precision as to truly impact a soccer match. She can make it look effortless.

“She has that natural god-given ability you would wish on every player,” her club coach, Campbell Chapman, said. “She can hold a ball, disguise a pass, split defenses and score goals. She’s a truly talented young lady.”

Speese, who lives in Augusta, GA, mentions longtime personal trainer Kian Brownlee with having helped her develop her skill base.

“That’s where I got my technique and all that,” Speese said. “He knew that my size was a disadvantage so I had to have something else to go on.”

Another big help was Augusta Arsenal club coach Kyle Norton who put her and her friend Cara Smith on a team along with a number of boys (including youth national teamer Bennett Yort), playing against other boys.

“I played with guys a lot and it’s something I just had to develop,” she said. “I had to play quicker and avoid contact. I had to learn to play faster and smarter.”

Along with Smith, Speese moved to Atlanta-area club GSA Phoenix as a U14 player. Chapman feels she is just beginning to realize her true potential.

“She’s matured a lot as a soccer player even in the last 12 months,” Chapman said. “My dad was a scout for the English National Team and he came over and watched. He hasn’t seen a lot of women’s football but he said she was one of the best girls’ players he’s ever seen. He really appreciated the way she played.”

Speese, who said she enjoys watching Portugese superstar Cristiano Ronaldo play, is currently deliberating between North Carolina, Florida State and Georgia among college programs.

“I’m not really interested in any others really now, but I could be later,” she explained.

She was the only Georgia player on the U.S. Youth Soccer Region III ODP ’92 team at the Thanksgiving Interregional, playing alongside such players as Nina Anderson, Molly Atherton, Amanda Frisbie, Juliann Jeffrey and Wendy Taylor Travis.

Her favorite teammate is right there in Augusta, 2012 graduate Cara Smith.

"We joke and call ourselves the dynamic duo. We know how each other plays. She makes runs and I play her the ball and she scores goals. I’m used to where she runs and where she wants the ball. She’s usually faster than other players,” she said. “Plus we’re best friends. I can talk to her about anything.”

Speese, who plays with Smith at Westminster School of Augusta, also credited her parents, Clark and Sarah, who among other things make sure she makes the 2-hour drive to the Atlanta area for practice.

“They’ve basically told me they will do as much as they can for me. They drive me anywhere,” she said. “They’re definitely my biggest fans. They’re pretty encouraging.”