While she will be playing a secondary role this time around in Guatemala, big things are expected down the road for Carley Radomski.
“She has great potential; we just think she needs more time,” said Canadian coach Bryan Rosenfeld.
“We think Carley can really excel to being a high-impact player.
“Long term, we think she has a lot to offer.”
Radomski, who turned 17 last week (April 28), is in Guatemala with Canada’s U17 women’s soccer team.
The centre-middle back only joined the Canadian side in late March, on the recommendation of former national team player, Ken Garraway, who had coached Radomski a few years back at the U14 level.
“We got a really strong recommendation from Ken,” Rosenfeld said.
“He felt she was someone we really needed to have a look at.”
Radomski has been a part of the B.C. provincial team programs at the U13, U14 and U15 levels, before taking a step back.
But in January, as she watched the Canadian women’s team qualify for this summer’s Olympic Games in London, Radomski was hit with a wave of excitement.
“It really hit me then, I really wanted to play and do what they were doing,” she explained.
She got in touch with Garraway, who had coached her at the U14 provincial level, and he got the ball rolling.
A short while later, Radomski received an email inviting her out to a Canadian team selection camp.
She spent part of March in Florida and then Trinidad and Tobago with the Canadian team, and then returned home for three weeks.
She left again for Florida on April 23 to rejoin her Canadian teammates and from there, the group left for Guatemala.
“I feel privileged to play for Canada, it’s an honour,” she said.
“Not many people have this opportunity.
“It has all come so quick, but it is exciting.”
One adjustment that Radomski has had to make is not being in a starting role, something she has been accustomed to over the years.
“I just have to work hard and show them I can be a starter,” she said.
As for guarding against trying to do too much in order to make an impression on the coaching staff, Radomski said that is not a problem.
“I just play simple and don’t try anything over the top,” she said.
“I am very calm back there.”
Rosenfeld is hopeful to get Radosmki on the pitch to gain experience.
“We think she is a very intelligent player,” he said.
“(She) has good visual awareness of what is happening around her, she is strong technically and a player we feel we can highly rely on in the back to maintain possession of the ball and make good decisions.”
Radomski also recently joined the Whitecaps FC Girls Elite program after previously playing for the Magnuson Ford Mariners FC U18 team of the EA Sports B.C. Premier Soccer League.
The Grade 11 student at Walnut Grove Secondary aims to play NCAA soccer in the U.S. after high school.