Posted on November 7, 2023November 17, 2023 by Jessica SilkensenPhoto Essay 2007, where my love of soccer began. This was when I got my very first pair of soccer cleats and my dad was over the moon that I was playing the sport he grew up loving. This picture was taken in 2010 during my Parks and Recreation season. I still didn’t really understand the rules of soccer yet, and I just liked to soccer goals and kick the ball. This was in 2014, also during a Parks and Recreation season. This is when my dad started to coach me and our team got to the finals This was in 2015 when I played indoor soccer for a team called the Rebels. This was my first time playing against boys in a game. This was in 2016 when I played Futsal. Futsal really enhanced my dribbling and foot skills to later lead me to play on higher levels of soccer like my middle school and high school teams. This was in 2017 when I was playing during one of my middle school games. This picture shows my best friend Ella and I. We played soccer together from 7th grade until our senior year of high school. This was in 2020 when Ella and I played FFC Club soccer. Fredericksburg Football Club was a travel team where I live but we were also playing high school soccer at the time so we decided to play for their club team instead of the travel team. This is my little sister Caitlyn and I in 2021. My county allowed 8th graders to play junior varsity. Notice we both got to be number 18 for our dad! I was on varsity and she was on junior varsity. This was Ella and I’s senior night in 2022. We were both captains together this season and our teammates made us these cool shirts! Now, in 2023 I play here at Longwood University for the Women’s Club team. The club team has been amazing and I have made some wonderful friends even though I miss playing with Ella a lot!