From points to triple-doubles, Caitlin Clark broke about 20 records in her rookie season. 4 years of college basketball saw even more. In Stephen Curry’s words, “Caitlin is special.” So, with the viewership numbers, the historic deals, and recognitions naming her ‘Basketball Athlete of the Year,’ it is hard to imagine the 2024 ROTY on a field other than Harwood. But only until a few years ago, that wasn’t the case.
Caitlin Clark was a multi-sport athlete during her high school. She played softball, soccer, tennis, and golf in her high school. In fact, in her soccer career, there were even talks of going pro.
What was Caitlin Clark’s early soccer experience and skill level?
Caitlin Clark started playing soccer at the age of just 5. She initially started in co-ed teams and was always the best player on the field, irrespective of gender. When she was 11 years old, during a tournament final, she shot and scored a goal straight from the kick-off.
Her coaches described her as a perfect mix of power and skill. “She was powerful. A powerful player,” one of her youth coaches, John Sheridan, says. With the lower body strength acquired through consistent shooting in basketball, she was soon at the top of it all.
How did Clark perform in competitive and high school soccer?
In her early teen years, Caitlin started playing soccer at Sporting Iowa, a club with partnerships with West Des Moines and Johnson/Urbandale soccer clubs. There, she was part of a dominating forward duo with Maya McDermott. Coach Sheridan described Caitlin as the player with exceptional ball striking abilities and raw power. Plus, she was as clutch as it could get.
At 13, during a state cup final, young Clark had scored two straight goals to break away from a 0-0 tie. The next year, she hit the winning goal from a good 40 yards away.
Following Sporting Iowa, Caitlin resumed her soccer journey at Dowling Catholic High School. In her freshman year, she scored an incredible 26 goals in just six games. Her performances led her to be the only freshman with first-team all-state honors. She took the momentum right to her sophomore year, leading her team to the State tournament. In 2018, she played her final soccer game with Dowling Catholic High School.
“After sophomore year, I gave up soccer and kind of knew my future was in basketball and that’s where I was going to be the most successful,” she says even after all the showcases. Had she continued her soccer career, her coaches had touted her as a clear Division I prospect.
Could Caitlin Clark have made the USWNT with her soccer talent?
While it is a case of what could have been, Caitlin Clark’s brief soccer journey was a clear marker for great potential. So many of her coaches have stated clearly that had she continued with soccer, playing for the national team was in her future. Her youth coaches, Ross Moffat and Sporting Iowa coach John Sheridan, have said that she could have easily played at the junior national team level at the time of giving up soccer.
According to them, her vision, instincts, and technical know-how made her stand out even against elite soccer players. In a 2024 interview with Hawk Central, her father, Brent Clark, revealed he believes the same. He said, “ Quite frankly, and I’m not trying to brag about it, but I think she could have been the same sort of talent in soccer that she is in basketball. She could have been on USA, junior-national type teams.”
Caitlin Clark might have decided not to continue her soccer journey. But, with the way her coaches speak about her, it’s clear that there was a big potential for her to make it to the USWNT had she continued.
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