There’s a season for everything. For Sophia Wilson, the all-league forward on the NWSL’s Portland Thorns, her journey to the pitch also included basketball. She started on her varsity team as a freshman at Fossil Ridge High School in Colorado, enjoying a sport that has deep ties to her family; her dad played at the University of Wyoming, and her older sister Savannah remains the all-time leading scorer at the University of Northern Colorado. Still, as much as Sophia enjoyed the court, soccer felt different to her: She felt freer and more creative when she played on the pitch. She turned the page on basketball in high school.
Since then, she’s channeled her relentless competitive drive toward becoming one of the world’s most elite soccer forwards. You’d need a pushpin map to keep track of the places she’s brought her winning ways to, places like Denver, Palo Alto and Portland. How has she taken the unfolding of her career? One season at a time.
Below, in her own words, Sophia shares more about her formative years as a young athlete, the concept of seasonality as a pro player, and her new season of life as a parent.
As a kid, I don’t know of a specific moment when I knew I had a talent for soccer, but I do remember right when I started that I felt more comfortable doing it than the people around me. I ran track. I did gymnastics when I was little. I played basketball and volleyball. I honestly really loved every sport I played. But I think it goes back to feeling the most comfortable in myself playing soccer.
