It all began for Sydney Carroll at age five when she made her soccer debut for the Maitland Yellow Jackets. Fast-forward 12 years, and Carroll is busy year round balancing academics and two soccer teams.

A day in the life of Carroll consists of waking up, going to school, going to Trinity Prep’s soccer practice, eating dinner, starting homework, attending her club soccer practice, before she finally returns home at around 10 p.m. only to finish the rest of her homework before finally heading to bed.

“I’ve learned a lot of time management skills, especially actually doing work during study time on tournament weekends instead of slacking off,” said Carroll. “In the end it only comes back to bite you.”

But when Carroll isn’t on the field you can find her indulging in the TV show Criminal Minds, spending time with her six nieces and nephews, or fishing at her house in the Keys, where she spends a month each summer.

Going into ninth grade, Carroll questioned if she was prepared to maintain her time consuming commitment to club soccer, but she held her ground.

Soccer is Carroll’s yoga.

“Soccer is just something I got into when I was little and it was fun,” said Carroll. “I have been playing with the same group of girls for a while now, and we’re all close friends. It’s just really a good team sport for me.”

At age eight Carroll joined her first competitive team playing for the Spirit United Soccer Club and later for the Central Florida United Soccer Club. Now she resides as right back, a defensive position, on the Orlando City Lions in the Elite Clubs National League for ages seventeen and under. Carroll’s team practices two to three times a week, and usually visits Spectrum Sports Performance in Winter Park once a week for a rigorous workout of conditioning and lifting.

The Orlando City Lions have a strict guideline ensuring their girls do not play any other sports, unless the player is a junior or a senior in which they are allowed to play soccer for their school team. When Carroll agreed to play, she was agreeing to make the club team her first priority. She is not permitted to miss club practices for school games and travels often out of state, particularly to Texas, where many teams in her league call home.

Not only does she play club, but Carroll has also been involved with the varsity soccer team since the eighth grade, playing either mid or center forward. On average, she practices five times a week and plays two games.

“My favorite part of playing soccer is all the friends I have made over the years. I have stayed close with a lot of them. In fact, some of the closest friends I have are from playing soccer,” said Carroll.

Carroll has high hopes for the future and is interested in playing soccer in college for all four years if possible. She is currently looking at lower to middle-level schools, including a couple of division one and two schools.

So what keeps Carroll motivated and focused during a game? “It’s really just a big team sport,” Carroll said. “I’m playing hard for my team and I don’t want to let myself or them down.”

“I have trouble staying focused during a game, but I am determined to be as focused as possible. My goal is really just to do my best,” said Carroll.

Carroll is excited for the varsity season and looks forward to seeing the team grow, and learn to work together. Most importantly, she looks forward to having fun.