University of Alabama soccer phenom Madeline Padelski has turned her love for soccer into an outstanding career, playing for Elite Clubs National League and the U.S. women’s youth national team.
The midfielder started playing soccer on recreational teams when she was 4 years old.
In an interview with Johnson City Press, she said, “Soccer was not in my family. My parents would put me in every sport, but I always came back to soccer. I went to a women’s World Cup game when I was nine years old, and I said, ‘I want to be like them.’ And my dad always helped me to push myself and get better. I wouldn’t be here without him.
The Nolensville, Tennessee, native moved up to play club soccer for Tri-Cities United in northeast Tennessee. It was there she began playing for an Elite Clubs National League team in Knoxville.
Padelski said her travel schedule was intense during this time, traveling one to two hours back and forth to practices.
Her final club was the Tennessee Soccer Club which she played on for five years. She said that participating on that team aided her development “tremendously.”
She said she is a massive fan of former U.S. women’s national team star Alex Morgan, who inspired her to keep pushing and grow as she played and to aim for the national team
Padelski eventually got the opportunity to represent the U.S. on the youth national team in 2022, where she reached the pinnacle of what she could achieve while playing in high school.
However, being a part of an elite team shed light on newfound challenges.
“You’re getting all the best players in the country and putting them all together,” Padelski said. “You’re constantly competing for spots, and the speed of play is really fast.”
Her tenure on the national team — eight total camps — has seen several successes. She played in two scrimmages against Japan, putting in a goal and logging an assist in one of those games. In April 2023, she competed in a tournament in France, where she scored a goal and helped her team to a 3-0 win
After playing for the national team in high school, she realized that in order to improve, she needed to play at a higher level sooner than most. She reclassified in high school, graduating at 16 years old.
“I really just wanted to grow and learn, and that’s what drew me to Alabama,” Padelski said.
For many freshmen, the change from high school to college is intimidating. Padelski, however, has been traveling for soccer since she was young and has become used to the balance between sports and school that all athletes have to manage.
“I feel like I’ve adjusted to it easily, and definitely my family, coaches and my teammates have helped me with that, too,” Padelski said. “It’s definitely different, coming in here super young, but I’ve definitely had all the support I’ve needed.”
Since her debut at Alabama, she has excelled on the field, starting most games this season. She has notched assists against Chattanooga and Southern Mississippi, and she netted her first goal at home against Florida Atlantic on August 29 despite limping off the field from an injury earlier in the match.
Padelski said she was excited and felt happy that her mom was at that game along with a crowd that filled the stands. The Crimson Tide beat the FAU Owls 8-2.
