Madison’s Leila Smith scores with Puerto Rico Youth National Team

MADISON – It’s safe to say soccer is a big part of the life of Leila Smith. The 14-year old homeschooled sophomore athlete is all about the sport she began at age four and has continued her dedication and passion for the athletic endeavor to where her soccer skills are at the top of her age division with a threestar rating and have propelled her to being selected to the Puerto Rico Youth National Team.

Smith tried out for the Puerto Rican team by attending a special one-week camp in mid-July where she exhibited her superior soccer skills through a variety of drills, workouts and scrimmages among 100 camp invitees where Smith completed the camp activities as the leading scorer from her center attacking midfielder position, a place she calls her soccer home.

“Twenty players were chosen from that camp to represent Puerto Rico at the Caribbean Union Talent Series, which featured 25 countries and was held in Trinidad and Tobago,” said Smith upon her arrival back in Madison from the one-week stay with her parents at the Caribbean location.

The U-14 Youth National Team played in five games in the tournament and was 4-1 overall. Smith started two of the games and played in all five as the Puerto Rican team ended up winning the U-14 Championship after defeating the Dominican Republic in the title game. Smith said of her experience in the elite atmosphere on the island located just off the shore of Venezuela in the Caribbean Sea, “I had lots of fun and I bonded with my teammates, half of which were from the United States and many of them I knew from the July camp. In our second game, I scored a goal and had two assists. Our lone loss was to the Dominican Republic in an earlier game and we came back to beat them in the championship.”

The daughter of David and Angie Smith, with Angie Smith being of Puerto Rican nationality, the native of Huntsville carries a 4.0 grade point average in her homeschooled studies and loves the idea of being a “Girly-Girl” having a passion for makeup supplies and always having her fingernails beautifully manicured. She also collects soccer cards and jerseys and added, “I do anything that’s adventurous and love to travel.”

Standing 5-foot-2 and weighing a mere 98 pounds with a bright smile that can bring joy to any surroundings, Smith took to soccer through her father who encouraged her to get involved with some type of activity. Once signing to play for a local AYSO team, Smith quickly exhibited terrific soccer talents, and through different teams and hours of practice, has escalated in levels to where she is today.

She spent the recent summer months as a member of the HVS Girls Academy based in Hoover/Vestavia and was invited to attend two Gotham Pro ID Camps held in New York back in January and June. The threeday camps were only a part of her busy summer of daily soccer workouts, traveling to play games at different locations and enjoying her break from school work participating in the sport of her passion.

“I began soccer on a girls team and played three seasons with boys on a club team,” said Smith. “On the playing field, I’m small, quick, skilled and see the field very well. I feel I dribble the ball very well and have strong legs and I think I’m really good with my legs and feet. But I do need some work on my headers.”

Smith relishes on her position as an attacking midfielder. She said, “I’m very aggressive and I swarm over my opponents like a gnat and though I’m up field because of my position, I drop back and attack on defense.”

The Smith household, which includes 12-year old Emma and eight-year old Isabela and their two dogs, is in a way a soccer shrine. In Smith’s bedroom, the area is filled with soccer items from posters, trophies, medals to soccer balls, and Smith has been known to take soccer balls throughout the house and dribble away at any hour of the day.

“Being home schooled has helped my play as a soccer player as I train a lot for soccer, many times just for fun,” said Smith, who at each game wears a band on her left wrist inscribed with a bible verse. “I also pray before each game.”