At five years old, senior Ashley Pennie was enrolled into a small recreational soccer league by her parents. This, of course, is a very common activity that most kids partake in, but for Pennie, this small, seemingly insignificant choice changed the trajectory of her life.
Pennie has continued to play soccer and has greatly improved after finding a strong passion for the sport. She has moved on from that small neighborhood team and has worked her way toward improving her skills and mastering the game.
After doing something for multiple years, it can be difficult to remain motivated and enthusiastic about it, but Pennie somehow continues to work hard, while also maintaining her love for the sport.
“I think my motivation comes from my love for the game,” Pennie said. “When I’m playing, training, running, or in the gym, I’m happy because I know that I’m doing what I can to get better. And I know that as long as I can get 1% better each and every day, I am doing whatever I can to achieve my goals.”
Like every young girl, Ashley Pennie had her various role models that inspired her. But instead of looking up to characters from TV shows or movies or pop-culture celebrities, Pennie admired talented athletes and attempted to imitate their skills in her games.
“One of my biggest role models is Emily Fox,” Pennie said. “She is a University of North Carolina Chapel Hill alumni who plays on the US Women’s National Team and Arsenal. She is the type of player who is fast, dynamic, aggressive, and able to endure long minutes. I can only hope to be considered half the player that she is.”
In order to stay motivated, athletes need something to work towards. Pennie has various short-term and long-term goals for her soccer career. She keeps these goals in mind every time she trains, or plays a game, in order to remember why she is working so hard.
“Three goals that I’ve always had for myself are to play on the US Youth National Team, play college soccer at UNC Chapel Hill, and win a World Cup with the US Women’s National Team,” Ashley Pennie said. “Throughout my development as a youth soccer player, I have been honored to be called up to USYNT camps. I continue to strive for call ups and continue to push myself to achieve that goal.”
With countless hours of training on top of keeping up with school, Pennie had to also find time to just be a normal teenager by hanging out with her friends, and partaking in hobbies she enjoys. Because of this, she has realized that soccer will always be her top priority but she has mastered the art of time management in her social life.
“People always say to do what you love, so for me, I play a lot of soccer,” Pennie said. “When it comes to school, I pay attention and get all my work done so then when it’s time to study, it’s more of a review of what I learned. And when I do homework, I will try to finish most of it in school so I’m only left with a very limited amount at home. I care a lot about doing well in school, but I don’t let that control my soccer life. By this I mean that I will dedicate more of my time to practicing and getting enough sleep/naps then school work. And in regard to my social life, I always keep in good contact with my friends and most weekends, when I don’t have games, I will do things with them.”
Since she was young, Pennie always imagined herself playing D1 soccer at her dream school: UNC Chapel Hill. UNC is known for having a very prestigious women’s soccer program, where only elite players are recruited and asked to join the team. Ashley Pennie is one of these players, with her being offered a spot and a scholarship to play on the team.
“On June 15th, the summer before my junior year, very early in the morning, I received a text message from the assistant coach from UNC,” Pennie said. “He expressed his interest in me and asked if we could get on a call a little later in the day. We spoke that day and continued to have conversations, throughout the month of July, and in August of that year. Late August, we set up a zoom call with the head coach, assistant coach, and my parents, where they offered me a spot and a scholarship to attend UNC. I was extremely happy that I had committed and that I achieved one of my goals. UNC was always my #1, my dream school, I couldn’t imagine myself playing soccer anywhere else.”
Ashley Pennie continues to inspire other young girls, whose goals are to become successful, talented soccer players, just like her. Her continuous determination and ambition are qualities that all young athletes should aspire to have.
“My one advice to future soccer players is to play for the young girl who fell in love with the game,” Pennie said. “At the end of the day, if you play for your love of the game and your dreams, you will always have a reason to keep going.”
With each stride on the soccer field, Ashley Pennie exemplifies the essence of soccer – a blend of skill, strategy, and sheer love for the sport.
