Meet the Author
Abigail "Aba" is a member of the U12 Washington Wolves Club team and will be aging up to the U14 team this fall. She started in our very first recreational program in 2019 before joining our first ever U12 club team in 2020. Since then, she has emerged as a standout player, playing multiple age groups over the years.
Fun Fact: Aba has been a member of our U12 club team since she was 7 years old. Most of her teammates when she started are rising seniors who are committed to play in college while she has just completed 6th grade!
Nine Washington Wolves players earned the incredible opportunity to compete at the U14 Nexus Championship in 2025. We joined 250 of the top U14 players from across the country to play five games over the course of three days. This is my second year playing at the Nexus Championship and I loved every minute of my time on and off the field.
The path to the Nexus Championship is a five-month journey. I spent three weekends at a site in Virginia doing drills and scrimmaging as evaluators scored my skills. Thousands of players across the country attended other sites but went through the same evaluations. We then waited for a month for an announcement about who would be invited to attend selection camp in Virginia Beach. It was a long, nerve-wracking wait.
The path to the Nexus Championship is a five-month journey. I spent three weekends at a site in Virginia doing drills and scrimmaging as evaluators scored my skills. Thousands of players across the country attended other sites but went through the same evaluations. We then waited for a month for an announcement about who would be invited to attend selection camp in Virginia Beach. It was a long, nerve-wracking wait.
I was so excited when so many of my teammates and I were selected to attend the Regional Selection Camp in Virginia Beach in May. Our site included girls from Region 7 and Region 8 and it was fun to meet amazing players from Delaware all the way to Florida. After a weekend of more skills sessions, it was another month wait to hear who would be invited to the 2025 Nexus Championship. I was ecstatic when I found out that I would return to the Nexus Championship and that eight of my Wolves teammates would be there with me. I could not wait to get there!
On July 10, the day I was waiting for finally arrived. Meeting my new teamates on Team London was such a cool experience! This year, I became really close with players on my team, who were 11-13 and came from states from California to Massachusetts. We had one practice and played five games over three days. We had team meals, made new friends, and learned from Coach Mark. Even though our team was the youngest, with only two 13-year-olds, we still beat the team that finished first overall (we did not place first in our pool due to goal differential).
In between games, I loved watching my Wolves teammates compete in their games. After tough matches in the Virginia Beach heat, we met at the stretching tent or in the ice baths to recover our bodies. Nexus is a spectacular way to grow and improve and I am thankful I had the experience with so many of my club teammates. Now it’s time for our summer vacation, to get ready for our fall Wolves season and, in seven months, start Nexus 2026!
Credits:
Photo credit: Steven Ritchie and Rachael Datch